These past few weeks with my husband laid off from his job have been interesting and stressful. Having him right here all the time completely throws off my routine, but he’s definitely getting a better view of why it’s often hard for me to accomplish much during the day.

Even with him here, the kids would far rather bother me than him. Habits, you know.

He’s had some good job interviews. One we’re hoping to hear back from could see us moving about an hour and a half north of where we are now, or out to Phoenix. We’ll just have to see how that one goes. The job sounds really good in a lot of ways. 3-12 hour shifts or 4-10 hour shifts per week. My husband actually likes the idea of longer shifts with more time off, although the 12 hour days are a bit longer than his ideal. But the pay is good.

Normally he complains if I stay up later than he does when I want to get more work done. But right now he has a fair understanding of why I do that. Doesn’t exactly delight him, but we both know the need is there for now.

Having him here has forced me to really work on some of my working habits. Some of my work time is now dedicated to assisting in his job hunt, but when I am working, there’s a lot more motivation. Someone has to bring in what money can be brought in, after all.

I am getting a tiny bit better about working with him next to me. It’s still rough… just knowing that he can read what I type as I go makes me more self conscious. Which is why I’m typing this while he’s at our son’s speech assessment.

We’ve also discussed how to handle things if he ends up with a job where he would work at home. He had been considering one, but it was commission only and no paid training, and we decided we weren’t up for the risk just now. If we had more money saved up, gladly. But now we know what we’ll do with the office to make working easier for both of us should another such job come along.

The kids are getting used to having him around too. As I said above, they’d still rather ask me for things. But they’re getting more fun time with Daddy, and he’s helping out more. Gage started out pretty stressed about the changes, but he’s accepting it all as routine now. No doubt that means I’ll be coping with a stressed kid again when my husband goes back to work.

Being a stay at home mom is a delight in so many ways, but as the kids get older a lot of SAHMs want something more, perhaps even their old career back.

TLC contacted me about a show they’re doing for SAHMs in that position. You can check out this flyer about their new show. It sounds like it will be very exciting for those who get to participate, and you’ll be surprising a lot of people when they find out what you’re really up to!

A lot of families are facing tighter budgets right now. It’s not just rising gas prices. It’s mortgages they didn’t realize they could afford. It’s jobs lost to downsizing. It’s a tough economy in many places right now.

Times like these make living a more frugal lifestyle not only more appealing, but more necessary for many families.

Frugality is not just about being cheap. In fact, being cheap is one of the traps of trying to be frugal. Choosing things that really aren’t of a reasonable quality can quickly derail your frugal efforts to spend less.

Sometimes the situation is urgent enough that it makes sense to buy flat out cheap. If money’s tight and that’s the only way you’re going to get what you need, what other options are there, really? But when you can afford to spend the extra to buy something that will last, and that’s reasonable to your need, it makes a lot of sense to do so.

You should also figure out what you’re paying for that you aren’t making enough use of. Long distance phone plans, for example. You may have one and not be making enough use out of it, or you can find one that better suits your needs. Go through your phone records to figure out how much you really need. Don’t under buy, but don’t get the biggest plan just because it has the most minutes.

Being organized can also help you to be frugal.

For example, running as many errands as possible on one day can help you to save money on gas. If you do as I do, and try to have that day be on the day you know you can get your best discounts on shopping, you’ll save even more money. My local grocery store has double flyers on Wednesdays, so there are more specials to choose from.

Keeping your home organized means that you will have a better idea as to what you really need to buy when you shop. It can also help to keep things around the house in better condition. And of course being organized can save you tons of time in just looking for something that isn’t where it belongs.

Buying clothing is a great area to remember to be frugal rather than cheap.

Which is better? A $10 shirt from Walmart or one bought from a thrift store? If you’re good at shopping, you can get some amazingly inexpensive clothes from thrift stores that look like new and are higher quality than you would get buying “cheap” elsewhere. You may even pay less. It’s just a matter of finding the right thrift stores for your area. Some carry amazing merchandise at great prices. Others have those gems more rarely.

It can be either frugal or cheap to try to get a better price on some of the things you buy. If you’re making other people miserable about it as you ask for a better price, you’re probably pushing too hard. But there is no harm in asking politely or doing reasonable negotiations.

Perhaps one of the most important things to remember is that if it’s impacting people around you negatively, you might be cheap and not frugal. Being frugal can sometimes mean depriving yourself of something. It doesn’t mean causing other people to pay more.