It’s happening everywhere. A close friend of mine just got laid off this week in the magazine industry. Ouch! Here’s a person who is highly talented, with a great personality and worth ethic. Plus, he has two kids. Is seems these days, if I’m not trying to impress my bosses with my own work, I am asking them if there are any opportunities for my pals.

To those looking, keep the faith. I’ve been through joblessness too – it does eventually end!

Early this week was a blur. Every waking minute was taken up with either trying to understand the details of President Obama’s new housing program or talking about it on air. The Treasury did a good job fielding questions about the program, making people available all day to talk to reporters. Yet, one issue remains unanswered: The when of the story. Government officials said the program would start right away. But banks were telling CNNmoney.com’s Tami Luhby that it could take weeks to get all the Ts crossed and Is dotted. Stay tuned.

Saturday afternoon, my husband and I headed down to Arthur Avenue, an old-fashioned Italian neighborhood in the Bronx in New York. We strolled among the stores and restaurants.

My husband and I both like to cook and we decided to do our weekly shopping there, loading up on fresh Italian breads, cheeses and meats. The trip was both entertaining and inexpensive. Cooking at home is one of the big ways we save money.

Trouble is I am always finding myself at the end of the week with a little bit this and a little bit of that left over and in need of inspiration to pull together a meal.  For good ideas on using leftover ingredients, I plug them into the recipe search function at www.epicurious.com and I often find something new and interesting to make.

Thought all you had to worry about was the economy? Think again – one of our CNN producers forwarded me an email a few minutes ago claiming to be from the IRS and offering to help her access a refund of $189.60. This is a SCAM – no two ways about it. The IRS doesn’t contact taxpayers by email. This recession is prime time for fraudsters – don’t fall victim.