We've played Life and Monopoly for fun but never Kyosaki's finance game. My kids seem to respond better when the lessons are directly relevant to what they are experiencing right now.
Something of good quality for their first kitchen because cooking at home can really save money and lead to good health: a Victorinox knife, a good sauce pan, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."
The best gift for a new college grad is a payment towards their student loans! The payment will go entirely towards principal if you make it before 6 months after graduation.
I think financial planning advice, such as a personal finance book geared toward their interest, gender and age, that they might actually read with a little money to start their emergency fund. My parents did this for my cousin. It took her a while to read the book, but she had the resource readily available when she was ready.
When my little sister graduated several years ago, I gave her a "manual" I wrote specifically for her that covered the basic stuff that you don't know you need to know: Changing fuses, turning the main water line off, just simple life stuff that you would feel stupid asking. I also promised her she could ask me any dumb questions and I wouldn't laugh (this clause, however, expired one year after graduation), as well as put her on my AAA membership, since her car was (and is) a ticking time bomb.
Something I would do for graduates now is offer to network with and for them. That's probably one of the most useful and valuable gifts in this job market.
I will go from experience... my dad gave me money of course, but he also got me a collectable silver dollar minted in the year I graduated, and he also got my brother the same thing for his graduation. Despite being odd, I really appreciate that gift. Also, my grandmother got me a solid wood musical jewelry box with a photo of me on the top and a message from her. I think those personal gifts were much more sweet than the money.
I think the best gifts are ones that are sentimental, and if you are not close to the person, then I think a book having to deal with one's major or success in the real world are nice. Although most people agree you can't learn how to succeed from a book, I think it can inspire and provide great ideas.
Depends on how much money one wants to spend. An all expense paid flight and all-inclusive hotel stay for a week anywhere in the USA would be awesome or anywhere in the world if your bank account is up to it. On my economic level I'd opt for a significant piece of jewelry that will last a lifetime or a Bible, life's guide book.
Money, gift cards (amazon cards are probably great for everything, but especially textbooks) or, as someone on another site suggested, a case of ramen (or a case of anything they like to eat that's easy to make/heat up - cans or boxes of soup. for instance). One of the best gifts I was given was a toaster oven. You might want to ask what the dorm regulations are concerning appliances before buying one, but if the student is a coffee drinker, get them a programmable coffee maker and travel mug. Will save them tons of money throughout college!
It's interesting how a child's cartoon can have so many lessons for adults. The one that resonates with me the most is "Save for Later". I'm making a more conscious effort to start saving. Thanks for the encouragement Winnie the Pooh.
When I graduated I wish I had money to help with the bills and gas gift cards to help with the job search especially since gas prices tend to skyrocket in the summer months in my area
Hmmm as with all insurance, it seems like a prudent idea but at the end of the day it's all set up to bring in more and more money for the insurance companies. You are able to insure anything these days so where do you draw the line for that 'peace of mind' before you are completely out of pocket because of all the insurance premiums your are paying...it's a hard one to balance I think.
Thanks for the advice! This has encouraged me to use video chat way more often! You were right on when you pointed out texts can lead to arguments because people can't tell how you actually feel. I have been in several of these types of arguments as well!
Another thing is that you don't always know what you SHOULD be saying when YOU don't accurately interpret the previous messages from who you are talking to. For example, imagine a text conversation where in the middle of it one person mentions they are upset about something. The other person may not see it as a huge issue and misinterpret that they were only slightly bothered. Then, they might not spend enough time talking about it and just say, "I'm sorry, I hope it gets better," and then move on to another subject. This can easily lead to unnecessary conflict that could have been avoided with a video chat.
We've played Life and Monopoly for fun but never Kyosaki's finance game. My kids seem to respond better when the lessons are directly relevant to what they are experiencing right now.
Something of good quality for their first kitchen because cooking at home can really save money and lead to good health: a Victorinox knife, a good sauce pan, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."
https://twitter.com/#!/elliebunny24/status/202451024055779330
I like on facebook
money is probably the best gift
The best gift for a new college grad is a payment towards their student loans! The payment will go entirely towards principal if you make it before 6 months after graduation.
I think financial planning advice, such as a personal finance book geared toward their interest, gender and age, that they might actually read with a little money to start their emergency fund. My parents did this for my cousin. It took her a while to read the book, but she had the resource readily available when she was ready.
When my little sister graduated several years ago, I gave her a "manual" I wrote specifically for her that covered the basic stuff that you don't know you need to know: Changing fuses, turning the main water line off, just simple life stuff that you would feel stupid asking. I also promised her she could ask me any dumb questions and I wouldn't laugh (this clause, however, expired one year after graduation), as well as put her on my AAA membership, since her car was (and is) a ticking time bomb.
Something I would do for graduates now is offer to network with and for them. That's probably one of the most useful and valuable gifts in this job market.
https://twitter.com/frugalportland/statuses/202442730750754816
Money to seed an IRA.
I will go from experience... my dad gave me money of course, but he also got me a collectable silver dollar minted in the year I graduated, and he also got my brother the same thing for his graduation. Despite being odd, I really appreciate that gift. Also, my grandmother got me a solid wood musical jewelry box with a photo of me on the top and a message from her. I think those personal gifts were much more sweet than the money.
I think the best gifts are ones that are sentimental, and if you are not close to the person, then I think a book having to deal with one's major or success in the real world are nice. Although most people agree you can't learn how to succeed from a book, I think it can inspire and provide great ideas.
A gas card - for either a summer road trip or to get cracking on job interviews, no matter how far away.
Depends on how much money one wants to spend. An all expense paid flight and all-inclusive hotel stay for a week anywhere in the USA would be awesome or anywhere in the world if your bank account is up to it. On my economic level I'd opt for a significant piece of jewelry that will last a lifetime or a Bible, life's guide book.
Money, gift cards (amazon cards are probably great for everything, but especially textbooks) or, as someone on another site suggested, a case of ramen (or a case of anything they like to eat that's easy to make/heat up - cans or boxes of soup. for instance). One of the best gifts I was given was a toaster oven. You might want to ask what the dorm regulations are concerning appliances before buying one, but if the student is a coffee drinker, get them a programmable coffee maker and travel mug. Will save them tons of money throughout college!
And here's my tweet : )
https://twitter.com/#!/LLProject/status/202433775626489857
An opening deposit for a Roth IRA (assuming they'll have earned income that year)!
And I have "liked" Wise Bread on FB. Thanks for all your great articles!
Best gift would be to contribute to a fund to pay off their student loans! As someone who is still paying mine off more than 15 years later, I know...
If your graduate has a Smarty Pig account, that's a great way to help them out. Or set one up for them -- https://www.smartypig.com/
It's interesting how a child's cartoon can have so many lessons for adults. The one that resonates with me the most is "Save for Later". I'm making a more conscious effort to start saving. Thanks for the encouragement Winnie the Pooh.
When I graduated I wish I had money to help with the bills and gas gift cards to help with the job search especially since gas prices tend to skyrocket in the summer months in my area
the ability to graduate debt-free!
Hmmm as with all insurance, it seems like a prudent idea but at the end of the day it's all set up to bring in more and more money for the insurance companies. You are able to insure anything these days so where do you draw the line for that 'peace of mind' before you are completely out of pocket because of all the insurance premiums your are paying...it's a hard one to balance I think.
The best gift, I think, is cash money!!!
A book on personal finance.
Thanks for the advice! This has encouraged me to use video chat way more often! You were right on when you pointed out texts can lead to arguments because people can't tell how you actually feel. I have been in several of these types of arguments as well!
Another thing is that you don't always know what you SHOULD be saying when YOU don't accurately interpret the previous messages from who you are talking to. For example, imagine a text conversation where in the middle of it one person mentions they are upset about something. The other person may not see it as a huge issue and misinterpret that they were only slightly bothered. Then, they might not spend enough time talking about it and just say, "I'm sorry, I hope it gets better," and then move on to another subject. This can easily lead to unnecessary conflict that could have been avoided with a video chat.