Self reliance will make us strong, say the talking heads. When my clothes dryer failed this week, we had to think very hard about how to proceed. We bought the dryer when we bought the house, so it's been serving us for 14 years. Repair parts were to cost ~$200, while a new dryer with similar features would cost in excess of $1,000. We aren't in a position to pay cash for the new one, and really didn't want to incur more debt, so we decided to suck it up and get the parts. I was able to make the repair, and thereby save the labor expense. In the end, I did not provide any stimulus to the economy, because I didn't go buy that new appliance.
Am I a bad guy for not helping out the folks at GE or Whirlpool or Kenmore? I think that in this and many more cases, I am more likely to be able to make ends meet if I can make my own repairs. "Making my own" also applies to food, furniture, clothes, and just about anything else that we can safely grow or craft. More and more, I predict a shift back to self reliance in many aspects of my life.
