Resourcefulness

I just read on the news that gas in America has hit a national average of $4 per gallon. Ouch. At least until I realized that here gas is over $5.50 a gallon. Gas here has always been more expensive than in the States. Same with India. Yet salaries here are so much lower! I don't know how people do it. A good salary here is around $400-500. That is not the highest salary, but it is a lot higher than the minimum wage of about $150. That's per month. Not week. Of course in the capital things are much different, but I'm talking about the real world of Ukraine.
Yet, in my experience Ukrainians are much more resourceful than many of us westerners. People here can fix things that in America we throw away. I had a computer that they told me would cost a minimum of $500 to fix in the States. I brought it here and it was fixed without buying additional parts or paying exorbitant labor. People here keep cars running, fix stoves, pipes, bikes, furniture and a ton of other things with only minimal resources. And yes, they don't always use the exactly right part, and it doesn't last forever, but it works and they don't have to throw it out either!
I feel like I am not a very resourceful person. Certainly, I have my areas, but not really across the board. But I want to be. I feel like it is part of being a good steward of this earth, which is what God has given us to do ("...fill the earth, and subdue it..." Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15 "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it."). Other places in the Bible talk about the earth being the Lord's.
In addition to being resourceful about what I have I try not to waste other resources, like water and gas. I often don't succeed. Sometimes, often, I would rather be comfortable. But I'm working on it. And each step forward counts.