If something was "fixable", my dad would take a stab at it. When the pockets in his trousers would eventually wear thin on the inside, he'd patch them up with some tape. When the soles of his shoes would wear through, he'd go to Woolworth's and buy some stick-on shoe soles.
First car I ever had......first day I had it...............................I got in a wreck. Nice. The entire left side of the car got banged up. The at-fault party's insurance paid $60 for the claim - old car.....that we'd only paid $50 for.
But it definitely needed fixed. Body shop? "We don't need no stinkin' body shop"!!! Lots of hammering, pounding, and Bondo later and the thing looked like - - - - - - - well - - - - it looked like my dad hammered and pounded and Bondo'd the car all up! Then he painted the entire car with enamel using.......
(wait for it).........a brush!
Actually, the paint job looked pretty good. He and I always joked that the side of the car looked like a waffle after it was all said and done.
Not being critical at all of my father - he was a great person and my best friend once I grew into adulthood. He was my Best Man when Sandy and I got married. But experiences in his past - The Great Depression, WWII, etc. - drove a lot of his mentality about being frugal.
Bill