We are always tight with our money. I wouldn't say we do without, we just do things differently. We haven't had cable in over 8 years. And after the initial "shock" wore off we really haven't missed it. If there is something we want to see, there are several sites that carry current shows...so we hooked our laptop up to our tv instead.
We still have a land line, but my cell phone rarely gets used, so we have a pay as you go phone. Most of the time I do not use all of the minutes, so the phone costs us $25 for three months of service. I would go without a phone all together, but that isn't the safest or most convenient option.
Coupons can save grocery money, but I am not very good at couponing and when I did participate I fell into the trap of buying things just because they were a great deal. We don't eat a lot of processed foods, so I didn't need most of the sale items. I choose instead to carefully plan my menus, shop by what's on sale and stock up when I find a great deal.
We rarely go out to eat. We might go out twice a month, if that.
Instead of blockbuster, we rent from Netflix or the library. And since Netflix lets you watch online that's an added bonus for us.
We don't buy books, we go to the library. I have a few magazine subscriptions, but I do a trade for them. My MIL and I trade and then I mail them to my mom, who mails me a different subscription that she gets (Media mail is cheap).
All of our credit cards are paid off. We have one that we use like a debit card. We put ALL of our expenses on it and then we PAY it OFF each month. This helps us track our spending. And we get the added benefit of cash back bonuses. This also helps us if we have issues with a purchase or need to return something, we have the credit card as back up records.
I am a SAHM. I have to get my kids out of the house regularly. I search high and low for free and cheap entertainment. There is a lot of great stuff out there if you do the leg work to find it.
We barter where we can. Sometimes this turns into a fabulous deal for everyone.
We shop for larger ticket items on craigslist and buy used when we can. When we buy new, we always ask for discounts. We saved 10% on our sofa recently because we wrote a check instead of charging it, we would have never known about the deal if we hadn't asked.
When something breaks down, we usually contact the manufacturer before buying a replacement. Obviously we didn't call for our 11 yo refrigerator, but when our 3 yo tv died we called. Shockingly, companies are often willing to work with you. Like the tv, WE broke a part off during a move, we were calling to get a replacement part, we explained it was our fault...they replaced the entire tv.
Be willing to save up. Buy what you want, don't settle. You'll only spend more when you realize you weren't happy with the "quick fix" you purchased.
We do all these minor things throughout the year and our friends tease us sometimes, but we don't live like homeless people. We have a nice house. We go out and do fun activities and take great trips. We just save where we can, so the money can go for more "fun" things.