If we normally spent $800 on groceries and eating out (way easier to do than it sounds), then we knew dropping our food budget to $150 for an entire month was probably unreasonable. We could eliminate eating out, but we also knew a too-tight grocery budget would make us resentful while we saved for our house. Instead, we looked at where cuts weren’t just possible but relatively painless. Food delivery went out the window. Every subscription we had was debated over, which definitely sucked in the beginning (RIP Netflix and Hulu). We kept Amazon Prime because the need for essentials like dog food meant the amount we saved from free shipping was it “worth it.” We also switched to lower-cost grocery stores for our weekly food shopping and saw our grocery bill decrease drastically without us sacrificing variety. We started meal prepping to cut out costs around lunchtime (and reduce waste) and brushed up on our cooking creativity. Ramen might seem inevitable when you’re trying to save as much money as possible, but planning ahead was a luxury that saved us from too many tiny square packages.