Rise Of The Fix-It Economy

CBS Evening News: Frugality Is Translating Into A Nice Bonus For The Fix-It Man

(CBS)  There is plenty around the country that needs fixing, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan.

In West Palm Beach, Judith Montrone is not waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, she is dropping off her shoes for repair.

"My daughter is out of work, my son is looking for work," she says. "My sister who is right here is out of work, and her boyfriend is out of work, too."

Daniel Catalfuno has been a cobbler for more than 70 years.

"A lot of 'em say they would never bother fixin' their shoes, they would throw them out," he says. "But now with things the way they are with the economy, they don't have ... they're tight for money. They're repairing everything they have."

At Catalfuno's shop, when times get tough, business steps right up.

Last November, the store brought in $16,000. This November, the store brought in $22,000 -- up 37 percent.

Scott Aherns of North Dallas Auto has been working on and under cars for nearly 20 years, and big repairs like transmissions and engine overhauls are up.

In 2007, he did 13. In 2008, he's already done 22. That's up 69 percent.

"Eighteen months ago, new engine? Forget it -- drag it over to the dealership and trade it in on something," Aherns says. "Where now a new engine can go 100,000 miles before it needs anything."

People are also trying to get more mileage out of their clothes.

Without A Trace Reweavers in Chicago has repair orders from all over the country.

"This is an Armani suit jacket, sport coat, and he got caught coming up out of a chair," Linda Mrkvicka from Without A Trace says as she shows off the jacket.

"What they're going to do is take material from the facing of the jacket and weave it in over this damaged area right here."

Last year, Without A Trace mended 5,900 pieces of clothing. This year, they've stitched more than 7,400 -- up 25 percent.

"This is the time where people are trying to save their clothes," Mrkvicka says. "They're not going out and buying new ones."

And photos show that even President-elect Obama could use a repair or two on his shoes -- welcome news for those in the fix-it business.

[neonink]

Cheapest car you will own is the one you already own. Honda cars last a really long time.

[debinok1]

My car is 19 years old and running fine. I have seen no need to get rid of it. It makes smart financial sense to fix what you have instead of buying new all the time.

[lordsuntzu]

gone are the days of $5 cup of coffee....

and that scares people

[incog-nito]

In a few years it will be a forage-and-scavenge-it economy.

[debinok1]

Maybe now we can get back to basics. Like sewing, gardening, building, cooking and canning.

[kansas1946]

Well, I guess there is a silver lining to anything. Maybe we will become less a "throw-away" society and that should help the landfills! Besides, repairing stuff used to be a great business. The only problem is that there are not too many people left that know how to fix stuff. There used to be several shops in our city that would fix small appliances but they all went out of business because it was cheaper to buy a new toaster than get one fixed. Maybe that will change.

[debinok1]

Killing, plucking, and butchering your own chickens.

Fixing your own tractor.

Milking your own goats - PLEASE wash the udders first, if you know goats you know where those udders have been.

Using the manure from the animals to fertilize the vegetable garden.

Getting some big dogs to keep the crop thieves away. Or at least they''''ll wake you up so you can grab the shotgun.

Cementing big sheets of tar paper on the roof because you can''''t afford to fix the leak any other way.

Learning how to live without gas, electricity, or city water or sewer.

Forget about cable or telephone.

Live without Netflix or Blockbuster.

Posted by txgrouch2008
*******************
If it comes to that at least I am prepared. I am also willing to teach anyone willing to learn.

[nothappyatall]

"A lot of ''em say they would never bother fixin'' their shoes, they would throw them out," he says."

Most shoes under $40-$%50 CANT be fixed, they were never made to be fixed, they have hollow plastic soles, put together using adhesives not stitches, the soles wear thru or crack at the bending point and that''t the end of them, they aint worth fixing.

The repairables are those $350 leather cowboy type BOOTS, not the $29.95 shoes you find at Wally World- wouldn''t even be worth fixing.

"Learning how to live without gas, electricity, or city water or sewer.
Forget about cable or telephone.
Posted by txgrouch2008 "

Umm, if you are on city water, garbage collection and sewer you don''t have the OPTION- your household is billed by the city. In most places you can''t legally occupy a house without those because it''s a hazzard/safety issue for the neighbors, code violation etc.
W/O a phone, what happens if you have a medical emergency or house fire at 2 AM? you wont find payphones on the corner any more.

[jps19651]

this is about the dumbest article i''ve ever seen. and the last guy who posted is right. most fix-it fellas are buttnubs, and ignorant.

[debinok1]

Being self sufficient is going to be a neccessity if things keep going the way they are. Which means finding alternatives to public works.

[peguesplace]

Fixing things isn''t quite what it was a few decades ago. Things were made to be dissembled and parts replaced.. Too much stuff today is engineered to be thrown away, not repaired.
Sometimes "progress" is really a step backwards..
Jury-rigging is getting harder because so many things are modular, and come in sealed plastic housings, designed to be pulled out and thrown away..
In 1960 a VW got 30 mpg.. You could pull the carburetor out of a ''55 Chevy and rebuild it in an afternoon by yourself for next to nothing.
Try messing with the fuel system on a car nowadays.. If you can get through all the *** that''s shoehorned into its tiny hood..not mention the cost... And most of them still don''t get 30 mpg....

[lordsuntzu]

Posted by william471 at 11:43 PM : Dec 29, 2008
+ report abuse

*****
jesus!!..some fix it guy touched your willie when you were young?? man you are paranoid

[rsmik]

I would rather spend 60.00 to repair a 150.00 pair of shoes than replace them with a 10.00 pair from Walmarts. My income isn''t disposable, so why should my clothes be?

[blakcbass]

I drive a 1992 Cadi RWD Brougham gets 19mpg and i have never done anything to it accept change the oil. what ever small cars save in gas you give it all back in maintenance.

[wonderlust3]

I couldn''t agree more txgrouch2008: The best investment I ever made was buying a Haynes Manual for my sedan and just recently for my newer truck. But I''m not spending the same money as I would with going to a mechanic -- I''ve saved hundreds with do-it-yourself repairs. I fixed the brake pads of my sedan last season and save around $250. It''s definitely worth it to be self-sufficient when it comes to common car and household repair.

[wonderlust3]

I couldn''t agree more txgrouch2008: The best investment I ever made was buying a Haynes Manual for my sedan and just recently for my newer truck. But I''m not spending the same money as I would with going to a mechanic -- I''ve saved hundreds with do-it-yourself repairs. I fixed the brake pads of my sedan last season and save around $250. It''s definitely worth it to be self-sufficient when it comes to common car and household repair.

[wonderlust3]

I couldn''t agree more txgrouch2008: The best investment I ever made was buying a Haynes Manual for my sedan and just recently for my newer truck. But I''m not spending the same money as I would with going to a mechanic -- I''ve saved hundreds with do-it-yourself repairs. I fixed the brake pads of my sedan last season and save around $250. It''s definitely worth it to be self-sufficient when it comes to common car and household repair.

[patriot2381]

Great, now we are being sold the "fix-it" economy, to replace the "service" economy, only "manufacturing" economy''s create wealth. Lets make nuclear power plants, toys, textiles, shoes, furniture like the old days.

[tincup356]

As the middle and lower classes of America deal with the economy and struggle....they will come up with a fix.....About 2o million broke , homeless, jobless, un-represented former middle class citizens......might come up with a fix Washington and wall st. might not like and would never win against...a revolution of the people to take back our country which is under attack right now by white collar ,suit and tie terrorists, by impostors claiming to be the American congress.

[tincup356]

to sockpuppet,,,pull your head out a few inches ...your not getting any fresh air....if you havent noticed right now the thieves pulling off this robbery right now are mostly Democrats...however you must be blind because all you see are the FEW republicans left in the gang of robbers.......Wake up idiot....both parties are working you like the crypt''s and bloods.

[irmcvet971]

Posted by tincup356 at 07:18 AM : Dec 30, 2008


Now I don''t know why, people who lack the basic education to read and understand what they have read, want to be involved in a debate but ANYONE blaming the Democrats for this meltdown OR the insanity of the Bail Out demanded by the fuhrer and the Reich is simply looking for a scape goat and has NO vision of how we manage to get out of the mess we are in. It''s going to take a LOT of investment by our Government and a LOT of hard work to overcome THIS Generations Hoover and that is a FACT!! We have TWO parties and that also is a FACT! Since the Republican Party has turned over their Party to a bunch of Southern Fascist, that doesn''t leave anyone else now does it?

[clancy49]

Enough is enough. The democrats robbed us, the republicans robbed us. Hello America, it is the financial lenders and insurance companies that have robbed America and put us into debt. With obscene profits they brag about, they wine, dine, and buy our legislators to make their criminal practices legal. The legislator buy out is non partisan. It puts money into the people that do them the most good. Why do you think these crooks are constantly re elected. The legislators are not nice guys, they just have money to buy positions. They got their money from the money criminals support. Stop doing this Republican-Democrat thing. Start firing at the real people responsible. What we should do is demand that the new administration place equal power and control on legislators with consumer attorneys as the control on citizens is used by corporate attorneys. We should fire all the legislators and just have corporate and consumer attorneys run our lives and manage our money. At least finally the American Citizen would receive a mutually beneficial reprepresentation and not a one sided corporate beneficial representation as we currently have.

[vanitydog]

Clancy49 you got the first part right, the retardicans robbed us blind.

[brannigon]

Rise Of The Fix-It Economy? When are we going to catch on? It can''t be fixed; its too late! Things will never be like they were! Things have changed; its time to adapt and develop something new! We''re in an economic revolution and its time to go on! Something new is here and we''ve got to find it and make it work!

[prohb]

What we should be focusing on is RESILIENCE

A RESILIENT PEOPLE-

* would be a frugal and energy conservation minded not because it''s the latest green fad but because it%u2019s wise and efficient and a normal part of their lifestyle.

* would be strong and courageous in the face of crises....... terrorists or a natural disaster. For the latter, they will respond intelligently (take a Red Cross first aid course for example) rather than just go whining and expecting the government to bail them out.

* will stay in shape so as not to jack up health care and energy costs.

* answer the call for SERVICE rather than just SHOPPING.
* A RESILIENT PEOPLE knows and understands their civic responsibility. They have an understanding what our Constitution is all about and THEY VOTE!
* And Finally, a RESILIENT PEOPLE has a CAN-DO attitude. We use our natural enthusiasm and creativity to solve our technical and social problems.
LET''''S BE A RESILIENT PEOPLE AND NOT A WHINING SHEEPLE!

[ccdsswrkr08]

Rise Of The Fix-It Economy? When are we going to catch on? It can''''t be fixed; its too late! Things will never be like they were! Things have changed; its time to adapt and develop something new! We''''re in an economic revolution and its time to go on! Something new is here and we''''ve got to find it and make it work!


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Posted by brannigon at 09:01 AM : Dec 30, 2008

read the article before you post. They''re not talking about fixing the economy, they''re stating how the main industries that have NOT been hit hard by the recession are the ones who specialize in repairing things; cars, cloths, shoes, etc.

[nikosk11]

Great, now we are being sold the "fix-it" economy, to replace the "service" economy, only "manufacturing" economy''''s create wealth. Lets make nuclear power plants, toys, textiles, shoes, furniture like the old days.

Posted by patriot2381 at 06:10 AM : Dec 30, 2008

Agree. Let us bring our country to the days after WWII when we were the envy of the world, until Reagan and the rest of the repukes came to power, then our country went down the tubes. GOP is the abomination of our proud nation.

[renonv5]

It''s about time. The he!! with the throw away economy which never made any sense. I know we as a people will survive, I question the rich and famous because they have gotten used to be catered to and those days will be gone first. They will be out there without a clue.

[bobnjersey]

[Things will never be like they were! Things have changed; its time to adapt and develop something new! We''''re in an economic revolution and its time to go on! Something new is here and we''''ve got to find it and make it work.]
[Posted by brannigon at 09:01 AM : Dec 30, 2008]

never say never. change is the only thing you can truly count on.

[mainedoggie]

22 Grand a month? Jeezus... can I become a cobbler''s apprentice?

[mycommentspg]

Conditions will be tough for the next 6-9 months if not longer. This is the the result of failure by Congress and members that have not been handling their responsibilities. That kind of non-action will continue until the public makes a decision to vote these members out of office. The economy will survive, but it will be a slow process. http://mycommentspage.blogspot.com/

[lordsuntzu]

you dont really expect a liberal democrat to go to a protest against the evils of capitalism and oil by walking and wearing anything less than a prada??