Couchsurfing is definitely the best solution for backpackers to save money on lodging and food. In addition you meet people from all over the world and make a huge cultural exchange.
You don’t need to do couchsurfing always with strangers you found on the site. Sometimes people you meet on your travels offer you a place because they are already in the network, it occurred to me three times. One of them was Bernardita, whom I met in Prague, Czech Republic.
She offered me accommodation in Venice, where I was going to university. Unmissable proposal, because Venice, besides being incredible is one of the most expensive cities in the world. An interesting experience that we also experienced was to meet an orchestra master, Gabriella Carli, who was going alone to the train terminal and asked us for help to carry her heavy suitcase. We had a half-hour conversation with her, who lived in Switzerland and spoke 6 languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, and even scratched a Portuguese. She even showed a reportage of her in a presentation she did. We exchanged contacts and she asked us to send the photo to her.
In Venice, I enjoyed making lots of food at home. The first tip is to look for local fairs that have fruits and vegetables with friendlier prices.
If the market in not enough, you can find food in shops, local brands sometimes can be cheaper and are more sustainable. Pasta and soups are generally a way to save money and a diet with meat makes the bill expensive. I spent 3 days there and 2 of them we ate at home. One day pasta, another day Also Verde (potato soup with kale and pepperoni) a Brazilian speciality.
