Happy New Year's Eve!

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year!

See you Monday!

Get Yourself a Jimi Wallet. Now!

Item: Jimi Wallet

Price: $14.95

Where to Buy: thejimi.com

Review: I got a nice surprise when I wrote about the Jimi wallet in June: The Jimi wallet people offered to send me one. For free.

Um, yes please.

I love it.

It doesn't quite hold enough (five cards and three folded bills) to be my everyday wallet, but it's nice and compact for a small purse. And it's fun to use. And cute. I got a pink one.

It's too late to ask for one for the holidays, but do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a Jimi wallet in the New Year.

Image from: thejimi.com

Merry Christmas!

Here's hoping you get all you wish for this holiday season (without being too extravagant, of course!).

Merry Christmas! Thrifty Under Fifty returns on Monday.

Cookies for the Traveler in All of Us

Item: Biscoff cookies

Price: $26.95 (200 cookies)

Where to Buy: Biscoff.com

Review: My favorite airline is Delta not because of low fares or on-time departures. Nope. It's because of those delectable in-flight snacks called Biscoff cookies.

Stronger that a graham cracker, yet sweeter than a ginger snap, the Biscoff cookie is the highlight of the flight. And unlike a lot of in-flight treats nowadays, they're still free (or at least they were the last time I flew Delta more than a year ago).

Luckily, I don't have to wait for a flight to get my Biscoff fix. Over supper one night, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and I learned of our shared regard for the cookie-biscuit. Lo and behold, I received a whole tin of the treats from them for Christmas one year.

Biscoff cookies not only make a great mid-morning treat at work, but also inspire me to plan my next trip -- via Delta, of course.

Image from: Biscoff.com

Priceline: Not Always the Best Deal

I've long been a fan of Priceline. I've lost count of the number of hotel rooms I've reserved for a fraction of the listed price both in the US and in Canada.

I've turned to Priceline several times now for rental cars, with mixed results. Last year I got a rental car in Columbus, Ohio, saved a few bucks, no problem. A more recent Priceline experience, however, proves that it's always wise to do some research before submitting your Priceline bid.

The goal: A 3-day rental to and from Detroit. Before I submitted my bid, Priceline's site showed that I could get a car from Alamo for $12 a day. So I submitted a bid of $8. No luck. $9. Nada.

What surprised me was that Priceline came back with a counteroffer -- of $13 a day. Huh?

Obviously I ignored the offer, made my way to Alamo's website and rented a car for the weekend for $49 and some change.

The lesson: Priceline has some great deals, but it doesn't have a monopoly on them.

Special Effects for Funky Photos

Item: BeFunky Photo Effects

Price: Free

Where to Try: BeFunky.com

Review: Add professional-looking special effects to your favorite photos in seconds -- no artistic skills required.

With nine options (including the "Warholizer" and the "Cartoonizer") there's hours of photorific fun at BeFunky.com. For example, see what "Charcola" did to the image above.

The site is free -- you don't even have to register to try it out -- and after uploading your photo, your new funkified image is displayed in seconds. What you do with the image is up to you-- you can purchase the image on shirts, mugs, magnets, keychains, stickers and more right on the site.

Saving on Household Utilities

If I had to pick a favorite bill, my choice by far would be my ConEdison electricity bill.

I love flipping to the chart that shows how my electricity usage had compared to each of the last 12 months, including the same month of the previous year. When that bar gets shorter and shorter (as it often did during the mild summer months, when I rarely ran the air conditioner), it's nice to know I'm helping my wallet and the world.

But my water usage? I have no idea. That's why I found this article on reducing your "water footprint" especially interesting.

According to Good Magazine, UNICEF says every person needs about five gallons of water per day to survive.

Americans use 151 gallons. Per day.

That includes an average of 3.5 to 6 gallons per toilet flush and 2.5 to 4 gallons per minute of your shower. See the article for a more complete list ... and tips on how to cut back.

First up for me? Something my parents asked me to do 15 years ago (with little results): Cutting my time in the shower. Besides, I can get on board with any environmental cause that also results in a few extra minutes of shut-eye in the morning.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

This winter, give your friends and family a taste of summer with these blueberry oatmeal muffins.

These muffins make tasty treats for teachers, postal workers and others you are looking to give token gifts to this holiday season. Or take them to the office potluck either for breakfast or for a healthy dessert.

Yes, blueberries are expensive this time of year, but give them a try with whatever fruit you have on hand. I've had excellent results substituting the blueberries for raspberries.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons + 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or raspberries)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste
1 cup yogurt (plain or fruit-flavored)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a muffin pan.

Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons oats and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine remaining oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until the batter is moistened but still lumpy. Gently fold in blueberries.

Fill muffin cups almost to top, and sprinkle reserved oats and brown sugar over muffins. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 12.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Continuing this week's theme of cheap and easy homemade Christmas gifts that look neither cheap nor easy ... Homemade Chocolate Syrup.

The recipe, from Small Notebook (who, in turn, borrowed it from The Complete Tightwad Gazette) has only five ingredients. And since the result keeps for several months, you can make the sauce at your leisure, far before the last-minute crush of holiday shopping and get-togethers.

Yes, the results look tasty, but what really makes this a gem of a gift is the container you package it in. A flip-top glass bottle (like that used at Small Notebook) with a homemade label makes this easy homemade Christmas gift appear not only delicious, but also thoughtful.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix cocoa and water in saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve cocoa. Add sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil 3 minutes over medium heat. Add salt and vanilla. Cool. Pour into a sterile glass jar, and store in refrigerator. Keeps for several months. Yields two cups.

Banana Bread

Just because you're pinching pennies doesn't mean you have to scrimp on Christmas gifts.

The key? Exchange money for time. This week I'm highlighting three Christmas gifts you can make in your kitchen in mere minutes, for mere pennies.

First up: banana bread.

Until I tried this recipe, I was never a huge fan of banana bread. I could take it or leave it. But this recipe is not only easy, it's maybe the best quick bread I've ever tasted. With some colored plastic wrap and ribbon, you've got a thoughtful, tasty gift.

And bonus: the leftover batter is all yours, and it's almost as good as the bread itself.

Banana Bread
Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed well
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one loaf pan.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Gently fold banana mixture into flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Batter will be thick.

Scrape batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out nearly clean, 55 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Let cool 1 hour before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thrifty Under Fifty will return on Monday. Until then, be sure to use up all of your turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie -- or just send them my way ...

Cheese Thimbles in Four Flavors

Image from: ShyBrothersFarm.com

Item: Hannahbells cheese thimbles

Price: $7.50 for 13 cheeses (about 3 ounces)

Where to Buy: Shy Brothers Farm

Review: A thimble of cheese: it sounds like an ingredient from a fairy tale.

These thimbles, however, come from a Massachusetts dairy farm. Shy Brothers Farm call them Hannahbells; the French, they say, call them "boutons de coulottes," or "trouser buttons."

Whatever you call them, they look delicious. Hannahbells are available in four flavors: classic French, shallot, rosemary and lavender bud. In addition to the small order of 13 cheeses of the same flavor, they also can be purchased in a sampler pack of 40 cheeses for $20.

I'd skip the crackers with this cheese and pop these thimbles plain.

Have a DVR? Cancel Netflix.

I don't have Netflix.

But I do have at least a half dozen movies ready to watch at all times ... all at the press of a button.

Once every week or two I browse the movie channels that come with my cable plan-- AMC, TCM and IFC are usually the best, but even Comedy Central and the Disney Channel play some good flicks once in awhile. Then I DVR anything and everything that looks interesting.

Then when I'm in the mood for a movie, or my husband and I want to kick back on the weekends, we always have a large selection no matter what our mood.

The selection of movies is surprisingly large on these channels. Admittedly, you're not going to find many recently released selections like you would on HBO and Showtime, but you'll greatly increase your knowledge of classic movies. Jack Lemmon has become one of my favorite actors of all time because of my propensity to record his movies, and I'm slowly making my way through all of Woody Allen's works.

So cancel your Netflix subscription. Spend your extra cash on popcorn instead.

Get a Head Start on Christmas Baked Goods

Christmas is less than six weeks away, and it's only going to get busier from here.

Trimming the tree. Buying the presents. Baking the cookies.

But wait: You can get the cookies done now! Many recipes include instructions for freezing the dough and baking them weeks later. I've made chocolate chip cookies and popped them in the oven six weeks later, and they taste just as fresh as if I had just stirred the dough.

Planning to give homemade treats as gifts? Make them now, and bake them later!

Does Anyone Pick Up Pennies Anymore?

A penny doesn't buy much these days, and it shows.

It seems that most people (including me) won't even stoop to pick up a penny. If I had a penny for every penny I saw on the sidewalk or on the stairs, I'd be a ... well I'd be at least a centanaire.

Silver coins obviously are more popular. I rarely see nickels, dimes or quarters lying about.

And dollar bills? A rare bread, but not unheard of.

I'll slow down for anything with a green or silver glint, but I leave the copper for toddlers and their piggy banks. What about you?

Rubber Bands That Are Doggone Cute

Item: Animal Rubber Bands

Price: $4.95 (24 rubber bands)

Where to Buy: Brainchildproducts.com

Review: An office supply that's practical and cute at the same time?

These animal rubber bands are molded into the shape of dogs, cats, pigs, ducks, rabbits and turtles. Stretch them out and they look like a normal, albeit colorful, rubber band. Take them off your item and they revert to their natural animal shape.

How can you resist that?

Best yet, the purchase of these animal rubber bands is sure to help the environment at least a bit. Who's going to toss a rubber band in the shape of a kitty into the landfill?

Additional themed rubber band packs: basic shapes, zoo animals, and -- get this -- underwear.

Image from: Brainchildproducts.com

Do-It-Yourself Extra Long Shower Curtain Liner

I measured the windows, I measured the walls.

Before we moved to a new place 500 miles away, I measured nearly everything-- except the distance from the shower rod to the base of the tub.

A shower curtain liner certainly qualifies as one of those things you need on your first day in a new apartment. So I went to the store and took my chances. I bought a new shower curtain liner of the standard length.

Unfortunately, it was about three inches two short. Water from the shower blew the bottom of the liner up over the tub, soaking the bathroom floor.

My solution? A clear plastic tablecloth from the nearest dollar store.

The tablecloth was about a foot too long, but I simply folded over the top until the "liner" was of the desired length, and then I poked holes at the top for the hooks. Voila! An extra long shower curtain liner that's less than 2 bucks -- and is easily replaceable.

Book Review: "Cheap"

Item: "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture," by Ellen Ruppel Shell

Price: $14.01

Where to Buy: Amazon

Review: Someone's paying for it, even if you're not.

That's the main idea behind "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture," a new book by Ellen Ruppel Shell.

Shell admits right off the bat that she's a bargain hunter. The problem, she says, is what we consider bargains may actually be hurting the environment, our expectations and employees around the world.

By now, most people understand the difference between between cheap and being frugal. The former looks only at price. The latter also considers quality. Shell uses examples like Ikea and outlet stores to show how looking nearly exclusively at price tags can dilute brands and affect buying habits.

But whether you label yourself cheap, frugal or just plain thrifty, do what I did if you want to read this book. Get it at the library.

Frightfully Low Prices on Halloween Candy

Kids clean up on candy when they trick-or-treat, but it's the day after that's the best time for chocolate for everyone else.

That's usually when grocery stores and pharmacies cut the prices on their stash of Halloween candy by 25 percent, 50 percent or even more.

Stock up! Hershey Kisses in orange wrappers are still Hershey Kisses. And coffin-shaped, caramel-filled chocolates are much tastier than they look.

The stock goes quickly, so don't wait more than a day or two after trick-or-treating in your community to make your own candy run.

3 Cheap and Easy Halloween Costumes

It's less than a week until Halloween and you're still without a costume. And without money.

Now that's scary.

But no fear! Make these 3 easy Halloween costumes on the cheap with things you already have tucked away in your closet.

1. Michael Phelps: Skip the swimsuit and put on a pair of windbreaker pants and a jacket-- red, white and blue if you can pull it off. Slap some goggles on your head and dig out those old medals you won in elementary school (or make your own with aluminum foil and ribbon). Voila. You're an Olympic superstar.

2. Ghost. It's an oldie but goody. You're never going to use that old white sheet in the linen closet anyway, so you might as well poke a couple of eye-holes in it. Bonus: You can use it as a blanket if you're outside and it's freezing. It's like a Halloween Snuggie.

3. Well-Read. Yep, I'm a bookworm and a dork and this was my last-minute costume for a holiday party at a friend's house a few years back. I carried a pail (I was a well) and wore all of my scarlet clothing (I was all red). Very punny, I know, but also very easy.