1998 Honda Civic Car dies for no reason

I have always restarted the car without noticing the dash light. I will have to pay attention to that in the future.

Also, I just installed a new fuel filter. Whether this had anything to do with the problem or not, the car is running much more smoothly now. I'll have to wait and see if it stalls again.
Thank you for your help.
ElizeB.

The stalling was anytime. Whether I was accelerating or coming to a stop or idling, stopped at a light. That's what has been puzzling, there was no particular time that it would do this. It has not done this since I installed the fuel filter just a couple of days ago, so I'm waiting to see if it will do it again and whether the dash light goes on. For now, all I can do is wait and see what happens next. Thanks.

It has been awhile since I installed the new fuel filter and it seemed to be running more smoothly and not dieing.

But now that's changed. It died about twice a week and now, today, it died about 10 times. It had been a while since it died so I was shocked and forgot to see if the light went on. But here's the news: Now when I try to start it back up, I have to try a few times before it starts. It doesn't crank over and over, it just seems like it's going to start and then doesn't and I have to try it again. Then it starts and runs fine. You mentioned the ignition switch and it seems to me you must be right since it doesn't want to start with the first try now. Can you tell me what I would tell a mechanic? I have a very low budget and that's why I didn't go to a shop and spend $100 for a diagnosis and was waiting to see what developed so I could be more sure about the problem. Thanks for your expert assistance.