Rules are really just guidelines. What i want to do is establish some criteria for what we or I am trying to do. What that is: to travel for 10+ months seeing as much as possible without breaking the bank. So, the rules:
1. Be open-minded. Base decisions on where to travel next in whole or in part on price. When we leave, we plan to book the least expensive flight to Europe or Asia we can find. (Within reason, right now, the cheapest flight in January is to Oslo. We may opt for No.2, which is Nice.
2. Don't blow a lot on hotels. Hotels have been around at least since baby Jesus and the haven't changed much. The best has about the same amenities as the worst (okay, maybe we're talking 80-20 here). But still, not worth paying a lot extra for. In general, we prefer AirBnB.
3. Eat local. It's usually cheaper and better and part of the experience. I have had Mexican food in the Czech Republic. There are better places to get Mexican. There are not better places to get Czech.
4. Fast travel through expensive places and slow travel through less expensive ones.
5. Break the rules from time to time.