When you’re supporting a family on only one income, it can be tricky to feel like you’re making any financial progress at all. And because you only are bringing home one salary, it’s essential you pay close attention to what your financial goals are and how you’re going to get there.

Here are some of the things you should be looking at when you’re trying to support a household on just one income.

Saving as Much In Your 401k as Possible

You need to sock away as much as you can for retirement because you’ll only have one 401k or pension to count on in your golden years since your partner isn’t working. Unless they play to join the workforce later, you need to be aggressive with your savings.

Most 401ks have an option for an automatic increase of 1 percent per year. That means that every year, your 401k contribution will go up by 1 percent, usually until you reach a certain percentage, like 20 percent.

Because that’s such a small amount at a time, it’s doable for you. You may not even miss that amount too much, especially if you get an annual raise too.

Watch Your Food Costs

This is where the stay-at-home partner can really contribute, by cutting corners on groceries whenever possible.

Because they’ll have a little more time on their hands to do the grocery shopping, they may be able to clip coupons or use digital coupons to lock in more savings. They should also prioritize putting together a menu so they don’t overspend on food, particularly fresh produce that might end up getting thrown out before it is used.

One great way to ensure there is no overspending on groceries is by using cash every time you go shopping. Plus, you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Everything in the store will look tempting to buy.

Be Sensible With Your Big Purchases

While little things do add up, those big-ticket items are still the ones that can impact your budget the most.

When house shopping, you should opt for one that still leaves plenty of room in your budget after you make the monthly payment. The same applies for car shopping, particularly since you may need two cars for your household and you only have one income to buy them with.

Have Your Own Spending Money

While you may only be bringing in one salary, the unpaid person in the relationship is still making a contribution. They may be raising children or taking care of the household and all the finances. They shouldn’t be made to feel like they aren’t entitled to spend any money just because what they’re doing isn’t compensated with a paycheck.

One way to work around this is to have both partners get an allowance at the beginning of the month. Whether it’s $100 a month or more, this is money that is just theirs to do with as they please. That can make everyone feel as if they don’t have to justify the little purchases they want to make that will make them happy.