I haunt clearance sales. I buy shirts at the thrift store and cut them up, it comes out to about 25 cents a yard that way. I buy thread from Connecting Threads once a year when they put it on sale. Barnett Lap Quilting Hoops has the best price I've seen for batting. My quilt backs are always blender fabrics from Marshall Dry Goods. I quilt my own, never send them out (but would love to). Sometimes I hand quilt, sometimes I DSM, (just gridlines). I tell people I make quilts and some people actually give me fabrics. For birthday and Christmas I ask for gift certificates to Hancock Fabrics, not because they are my fav place to buy, but because it is convenient to the gifters. Then I wait till one of their big, big sales to buy.
I buy from FabricDepot.com, Marshall Dry Goods, and sometimes ebay for my new fabrics. I NEVER pay full price for fabric.
We have cut all extras out of our budget. No eating out, even fast food. No travel or Sunday afternoon drives. No new anything that hasn't been absolutely worn out. Coupons for brand name groceries, generic for everything else. I use the crock pot to cook as it saves energy and I can cook cheaper pieces of meat. We have beans and cornbread at least 2 meals a week. I still have internet and cable/bundled/ under $100 a month. That will be the next thing to cut and the only thing left in our budget that is not life essential. We have no tv service without cable.