Unless you’re going somewhere like McDonald’s, eating out is expensive. Even if a restaurant is fairly priced, making a habit of it can take a chunk out of your hard-earned money. It makes sense to sacrifice it now and then, but it doesn’t have to be as boring as facing down the leftovers in the fridge at home.

This was proved by @iqzhprius, who revealed on TikTok how she and her friends had cut down the price of their meal by bringing their own instant ramen noodles to a hotpot restaurant. It’s not an effort that everyone would bother with, and this was shown in the comments — with people undecided whether the move was savvy or pointless. So long as they didn’t skip the tip, it was probably all good.