It wasn't so much what they did as what they didn't do.
They didn't buy a car because it would have cost too much - not just the cost of a second hand car but also the cost of driving lessons, car insurance, motor tax, new tyres etc. When you're living hand to mouth, those things amount to a significant outlay.
They didn't get central heating because it would have cost too much to get a heating system installed. Plus the gas bill would have been a lot more expensive. So we all huddled around the coal fire in the sitting room in winter.
They didn't go on expensive foreign holidays or even stay in hotels in Ireland. They would have needed a lot of hotel rooms for two adults and five children. If we went on holiday at all, it was a caravan by the sea. We went to Butlins once and thought we'd gone to heaven.
They didn't go to restaurants or pubs. If we went on a day trip, we brought packed lunches like so many pps.
They didn't buy new clothes if they could avoid it. I was bullied for wearing ugly, unfashionable clothes and I can't bear second-hand clothes now, even though I know it's better for the environment.
My parents were careful with food. It's not that we went hungry, but there were rules about food. For example, Dad usually cooked sausages and rashers on a Sunday morning. We could have cereal or a cooked breakfast. But not both. So if you woke at 7, you were expected to wait until 9 or 10 when Dad would have gone to mass, came home and then cooked a fry. You could have one Weetabix for breakfast, but not two. Mam bought Weetabix because it was cheaper than the likes of Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies. We moaned at length that our friends had Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies which were much nicer. And I think the free gifts were better. We rarely had fruit in the house. If we were hungry, we were told to have bread or a sandwich. Mam was always complaining about the price of eggs. If Dad had a boiled egg for his tea, we five kids would squabble over who got to eat the top of the boiled egg. A whole boiled egg for yourself would have been an unimaginable luxury. Treats were a packed of custard creams . A visit to a family friend (usually an older lady who didn't have children), which might involve being offered a glass of lemonade and chocolate biscuits, was a real treat.
Sanitary towels for four women was an expense Mam could have done without. You were given a packet of sanitary towels each month and expected to make it last for the duration of your period. It didn't matter that I bled very heavily for a full week and should have been changing the towels much more frequently. I ended up wrapping the used towels in wads of toilet roll, to make them last longer. Even though it made them bulky and uncomfortable.