I'm with you on repairing bike tubes. I repair tubes most of the time and carry a kit on rides and an unopened spare.
Kits cost about four bucks and they're easy to use. The downside is that the glue once opened loses its usefulness pretty fast.
Tires are another thing. The darn things are expensive considering their size and the amount of material used to make them. A Continental can run to $40 plus.