1) Our kids had no bedrooms until the oldest was about 7. They slept on mats on the living room floor.
2) We had no new furniture.
3) We drove used cars.
4) We lived in a welfare Section 8 neighborhood.
5) Our clothing came from Good Will and I made any Sunday clothing that I wore.
6) We had a large garden and grew a lot of our fruits and vegetables.
I know of one family that literally lived in a tent! They were parents of 10 homeschooled children. The father was a construction worker. In the summer they moved to North and used state camp grounds. In the winter they went South.
For most families that I know private schooling and/or homeschooling is an option. They just don't want to make the downgrade in their lifestyle.
Sounds familiar: We live in a trailer park (1973 doublewide) and drive a 1990 Geo Metro and a couple old trucks and many of my clothes come from the thrift store. Nearly all the childrens’ do. The part about not enough bedrooms sounds VERY familiar! Neither of us is able to work enough to amount to anything but fortunately, through the Grace of God, I have reasonable savings.
Things at public school aren't so bad currently because the kindergarten and first grade teachers essentially share the same values we do. This is a very conservative area. But I am still concerned about middle school and beyond, especially when state law will force immoral curricula.
I don't have the temperament to home school myself but my wife does quite a bit of it as a supplement to public school. But as she grew up in a foreign country without access to much education she won't be able to do that through high school. Good luck to you and your family: you sound like very nice and capable people!
Steve