Micro-Budget Filmmaking: Creative Vision vs. Practicality in Concept

Hey everyone, I'm Marcus Johnson, a working Director/Writer, and I'm really grappling with something. I'm deep into developing a new sci-fi short, and while the ideas are flowing, I keep hitting this wall where my creative ambition clashes directly with the realities of a micro-budget. I've been trying to 'write for the budget' by constantly reining in locations, character count, and FX, even resorting to thinking about shooting on my DSLR to save on camera rental. But honestly, it feels like I'm stripping away the very elements that make the concept exciting in the first place. How do you all approach this? How do you keep the core creative vision alive and intriguing during the concept development phase when you know you're working with virtually no money, without just bland-ing it down until it's barely recognizable?