I guess its Auto day for me today. I just learned that Auto Zone’s profit increased in the second quarter by 8.6%. I have to guess that we have not only decided not to buy brand new cars as I wrote about below but have also decided to keep driving our current car and on top of it all, fix it ourselves. Could this be a little metaphor from the early days of Home Depot, where we all became Handymen and women, updating our current home rather than buying a new one? That could be a stretch but the point is that we can take on a few jobs ourselves. Walmart wants 30 bucks to change your oil. I can do it myself for 12.50 from Auto zone and take the oil back to them to recycle. I think its a great idea. Why not show your kids some home mechanical work too at the same time. Of course, things like timing belts and transmission work should go the pros, you will be amazed how you can top off all your fluids by yourself. Very few cars have to be lubed anymore. Remember those huge lube guns you would snap on at the hubs to lube…those are gone and are impacted at the factory. So now its just oil and the filter which is just a snap. Good luck auto parts stores as we all become more self sufficient.