12 gifts to jump-start your grad

Entertainment or travel

Want to give something fun? A pair of season tickets to a beloved sports team, an annual pass to a local museum or theater and a Netflix subscription all make great gifts.

Now also is an ideal time for your grad to explore the world before he's saddled down with a job and family responsibilities. An all-expenses-paid getaway can be just the ticket if your budget allows it. (See "Your 5-minute guide to travel deals.")

Luggage

A nice set of luggage will come in handy for business travel at your grad's new job.

You can get a good-quality set at deep discounts online. For example, we recently spotted a four-piece American Tourister set for $150 at eBags.com with free shipping. (Retail price: $680.)

An investor starter kit

Want to get your grad excited about investing? Give her some seed money -- and the tools -- to be successful. Online broker ShareBuilder has an investor starter kit that makes a great gift.

We found a $20 package at Costco.com, and it includes a $55 stock gift certificate, a copy of the book "The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach and a CD-ROM that explains how to invest online.

A laptop computer

Whether your grad is going to graduate school or starting his first job, a new laptop is a welcome gift.

The experts at CNET.com recommend shopping for a laptop with an Advanced Micro Devices Turion 64 or Intel Core Duo processor, at least 1 gigabyte of random access memory (but 2 GB is better), an 80-GB hard drive (more if your grad will store a lot of pictures or MP3 files on the computer) and a DVD burner.

Furniture

A big mistake a lot of young adults make is spending too much to furnish their first place and racking up huge credit card bills. You can help by buying one key piece and suggesting they fill in the rest as they can afford it. A comfortable sofa, a dining table and chairs or a good mattress are sensible choices.

For the modest gift budget, consider a grown-up set of sheets or a comforter to replace the "Simpsons" set your grad used at college. Or a new matching set of plates, cups or utensils.

Cash

You can't go wrong with a gift of money. If you want to give money to go toward something specific, say so: "I know you need money for your move," or "This is to help you furnish your new apartment."

If you want to give money for a long-term goal -- for example, a down payment on a house -- consider giving it in a bank certificate of deposit. That way, your grad can't touch it until the CD's term expires without paying a penalty.

NEXT: Get more advice for young adults just starting out in life

This article was reported and written by Erin Burt for Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.

Published June 4, 2008

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