A woman has managed to travel the globe twice on a shoestring budget of just £50 per week. Helen Dainty, 46, from the West Midlands, quit her job in the travel industry to become a full-time globetrotter. Despite having to camp in the snow and occasionally dumpster dive, she has no plans to stop. She's covered an impressive 83,000km across 28 countries, equivalent to circling the world twice over.
"At the start of the week, I put my cash into my wallet, and then I can watch how I'm spending by not using a card," Helen shared with NeedToKnow.co.uk. "I've been a traveller for about 20 years, but I've always had to sort of intersperse my year of travelling with a year or two of work.".
She discovered that bicycle touring allowed her to travel more affordably. "I realised that if I kept my budget low, I could just about eek a living through the small amount of money, about $100 Australian dollars a week (£50), that I was earning from a rental property in Sydney.".
Helen embarked on her adventure in 2018 and intends to continue as long as she is physically able. She has visited all seven continents, including Antarctica, which she cites as her favourite destination. Her modest budget covers food, occasional guest house stays, and activities like museum entries.
The enterprising traveller, with an extra reserve of $1,800 AUS (£904) put aside for unexpected expenses such as bike repairs, detailed her frugal journey. She remarked: "I've just exceeded 83,000 kilometres. It's 40,200 kilometres to go around the planet, so I've done two trips around the planet. The number of kilometres I do in a day really depends on the terrain.
