Here’s a Valentine’s Day gift for the money manager in your life -- and we guarantee the R-O-I.

Try Financial Crunch (www.financialcrunch.com). We’re not talking about your credit card bills. It’s a neat little tin of chocolate coins -- each with a bite removed. The tax bite, according to founder, Lisa Nalen of Princeton.

There are 11 in a package; Nalen calls it a banker’s -- not baker’s -- dozen. It is a mellow, delicious milk chocolate with a tiny crunch. You’ll want to empty this account right away!

Nalen, a mother of three, actually developed Financial Crunch straight out of college. After a grand entrance in the candy world -- including a People magazine article -- Lisa and her team were instant celebrities. Shortly afterward, the partnership, like chocolate, melted.

Lisa went off to a career in television, eventually hosting the home improvement show “Easy Does It” on Discovery, along with acting in soaps and commercials.

But, twenty years later, she revived the brand, designed a brand new tin -- it’s an octagon. The chocolate is now carried by some great retailers in playgrounds for the wealthy, like Aspen and Palm Beach. In Princeton, you can buy F.C. at Rouge on Witherspoon. Sales have doubled over last year.

The candy coins are handmade in Philadelphia by gourmet chocolate-makers. Next month, you’ll be able to buy a new variety -- a mint-y flavored coin.

Lisa calls her home-based business a life lesson for the kids. They answer the phone, and help her with orders. They are learning that good ideas can get a second chance. Take that to the bank!

Banish the tiny gems! Bold, colorful, whimsical jewelry makes your arrival on any stage a fashion statement.

How to achieve the look? Remember The Graduate? Plastics.

Let Lucite be your new quartz. You have a resin de vivre.

We the heart watch necklace ($20) -- just in time for Valentines Day -- at www.fredflare.com. And we really the Alexis Bittar acrylic necklaces at Saks (www.saksfifthavenue.com) not to mention the cute plaid hand-painted acrylic bangles.

Call it prison chic: chains and cuffs. Check out Target (www.target.com) for a white Lucite chain (they call it circle link) necklace for $34.99, then head to Urban Outfitters (www.urbanoutfitters.com) in Montclair for a choice of cool inexpensive cuffs, some Lucite, some carved, others hand-painted wood.

Two other trends to watch: The BIG ring. The return of clip-ons.

In rings, size does matter. Small finger, big ring. Decorate your digits with big gaudy Kenneth Jay Lane cocktail rings (www.maxandchloe.com).

Painfully weighty, but with orb-like charm, clip-on earrings are no longer just for anchorwomen. See www.forzieri.com for a nice collection of high end, very classy crystal clip-ons. Or go vintage with Fine Catch Antiques in the Red Bank Antiques Center (www.rubylane.com/shops/lovetobuy/item/3-0027). Take that earring off before it crashes into your cellphone!

So many choices for materials and designs. Vintage and modern looks, blended and contrasted. You can create your own treasure chest and look like a star. Best of all, it’s easy on your plastic!

You, as Chief Executive Mom, can administrate your family meal without going food shopping, or worse, dirtying your kitchen. Here’s how:

You designate your entrees at a company called Dinner by Design, www.dinnerbydesignkitchen.com. Go to their large communal kitchen in a Mount Laurel shopping center.

You join others (guys too) in a spotless assembly line, chopping, mixing, and plopping the pre-seasoned ingredients into freezer pans, making no less then six entrees in one hour. Cost: $129.00 for the six (each serving 4-6 people), or $229 for a dozen, which takes two hours.

Back home, select one of your frozen fares, heat in the oven or on stovetop and toss a salad. Dinner is served! Taxes included, it’s about $4 per meal.

Don’t live near Mount Laurel? Don’t worry. This is a growth industry. The next Dinner by Design is slated to open in Ramsey early in March. A similar franchise called Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com) is about to open in Flemington. My Girlfriend’s Kitchen (www.mgfk.com) has locations planned in Paramus and Wyckoff.

All also offer reasonably priced pre-prepared food to go. We tested D-b-D’s paella and it was more than satisfying.

You can book their space for a cooking party or a girl?s night out.

At D-b-D, A large sign reads “Traditions Are Created Around The Dinner Table.” Franchise owner Ryan Carnall says he wants to keep families eating together. “This isn’t a novelty, this is a way of life now,” he says.

No doubt, food is love. Mom knew that. You don’t need to know how to cook to make that point. You just need a bigger freezer.

You might be right, but then again, this is 2007, and being rich -- or looking that way -- is not a bad thing.

Here are two names that will help you achieve the look, sans sugar daddy: Nifty Thifties and Born To Shop. Two thrift stores, under one owner, on one small block in Haddonfield.

Nifty Thrifties (413 North Haddon Ave., 856-795-9085) has designer jeans at less than half their original price. Some worn, some new. Vintage and new Coach bags. A Prada backpack. A Dior purse. A great new pair of black silk pumps for $150. A rack of pristine leather jackets. Tons of cashmere. Floor length fur coats. Gold, silver, and diamond jewelry.

Head down the block, pause briefly at the pizza joint in the middle, then enter Born to Shop (407 North Haddon, 856-427-4118). Here, more high-end clothing designers. A Burberry raincoat, Brand new Escada and Louis Feraud suits and jackets, tags still on, priced about a fourth of new. Conservative career clothes: We counted at least seven Garfield & Marks suits in excellent shape.

Ask to see the new sparkling black Judith Leiber evening bag for a third of its retail price. And check out the basement full of vintage handbags and shoes.

A mom and daughter out shopping showed us a photo of an amazing designer gown they’d picked up for $85 in Born To Shop. It was the best looking dress at the high school prom. We watched a local flea market buyer stalk bargains she could re-sell.

Give yourself some time to browse both stores. And when you leave -- looking rich and bored -- we won’t let anyone know how you got that way!

Monday, how you can create dozens of home-made meals -- without dirtying your kitchen.

Have a great weekend!

These are the dull days of January, and sometimes, we just have to make our own excitement. First, go see Dreamgirls (www.dreamgirlsmovie.com). And then?

Live The Dream!
Get some sixties retro clothing and make your own kind of music! Backward Glances (www.backwardglances.com) in Red Bank, and Time After Time in Madison, stock vintage clothing and jewelry, even wigs.

Have A Blast?
This might just be the place to wear that glittery sixties mini -- the hot sounds of Bossa Brasil, Saturday night at Giambotta (www.giambotta.com) in Cedar Grove -- this will get your motor running.

Pick Your Shots
Sip some Cuervo Reserva in Atlantic Highlands at the Copper Canyon Restaurant’s gourmet tequila bar. Head upstairs afterwards to a suite at the tony Blue Bay Inn (www.bluebayinn.com).

Not interested in drinks and dancing? Here are some ideas that will definitely give you something to talk about on Monday:

Slam Dunk
It’s on campus. But it?s not Poetry 101. Slam Poetry (www.poetryslam.com) by the Mayhem Poets (www.mayhempoets.com), Friday night at Raritan Valley Community College.

The Clapper
We all know someone who secretly yearns to be part of a live seal act. Go do it, at the Aquarium in Camden. Then chill out with the Deep Freeze special, where you can watch ice sculptures of seals, penguins and sharks (www.adventureaquarium.com/).

One Hand Clapping
And the other holds your fortune -- you’ll find Tarot Card and Palm Reader Rick Mitchell every Sunday afternoon at the Tapestry Café in Netcong. (973-347-0123)

Both Hands Doing
Join a Stitch and Bitch (love the name!) knitting club near you. Beginners are usually OK. http://www.stitchnbitch.org/snb_groups.htm#nj has a list of chapters throughout the state.

Pearls Too
That new double strand of pearls looks perfectly fine with your vintage Jackie O shift dress. Seek them out at Iridesse (www.iridesse.com) at the Short Hills Mall or the Pier at Caesar’s and -- coming soon to Garden State Plaza. You’ll be ready to Fake Your Way To The Top (from the Dreamgirls Soundtrack on Amazon.com, $19.99).

See you tomorrow with a trip to a pair of nifty thrift stores!