Back to doing it ourselves

The economic downturn is bringing out that old virtue of self-reliance. From washingtonpost.com:

The economic downturn is forcing America’s households to learn a tough lesson: how to fend for themselves.

Sales of starter sewing kits have shot up by 30 percent at Wal-Mart as families forgo the tailor. Landscaping companies have suffered a 7 percent drop in revenue over the past year. Procter & Gamble said that it has noticed more questions from customers about how to dye their hair at home to match salon coloring.

The recession has had a powerful effect on the American state of mind. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday shows Americans have grown increasingly insecure about their finances since mid-September, as fears about making mortgage payments have spread and more believe the economy is in a long-term, serious decline.

These feelings have helped set off a change in behavior so pronounced marketers and businesses have coined a name for it. They call it “insourcing”: doing yourself what you once gladly paid others to do.

Two-thirds of those responding to the new poll said they’ve cut back on spending, including nearly a third who have pulled back “sharply.” Americans across income groups said they are opening their wallets less often these days.

“There are many of us that have been spending money that we can’t afford to spend and have taken on habits that we had no business taking on,” said Paco Underhill, who studies consumer behavior and wrote the book “Why We Buy.”