money-smart gifts for college grads - smart

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This spring, more than 1 million college graduates received their diplomas, and many will receive gifts from proud family and friends.
According to a survey of 102 of the National Retail Federation, the average person who buys graduation gifts is expected to spend $2018, and the survey also found that the most popular gift is the most popular gift, there is often cash in the most popular ones.
This means that people with multiple generous family members may end up getting hundreds of dollars or more.
But Manisha Thakor says simply handing out cash can be a missed opportunity to bring more meaningful gifts to graduates, such as helping them learn financial skills or encouraging them to start saving, A registered financial planner and vice president of Financial Management
Working at Brighton Jones, a wealth management company.
Of course, for most young people celebrating the last day of college, financial planning help may not be what they want most.
That's why you might consider splitting your graduation gift into two parts: "Now" and "later.
"Give the graduates some interesting beginnings," Thakor said . ".
"Then, follow up with a gift that will help them get on the right financial path.
"You can mention the following
Give a gift with a note or card when you graduate.
Of course, the right choice of gifts depends on the goals of the graduates and your budget.
This is five dollars.
Smart gift idea to consider: build a budget "the best gift you can give to graduates is to help them create a realistic budget," says Gordon Achtman, a fee --
The only financial planner in Va Annandale.
With the budget, the graduate can have a comprehensive understanding of his or her income and expenses, which is the key to managing cash flow.
If your graduate has not yet learned the basics of the budget, you can give him or her a budget tool such as YNAB (youneedabudget. com; $84 a year).
Or you can help them with mint.
This is free.
Even if your graduate has not yet worked, or takes a vacation before starting graduate school, the study budget is now valuable.
"Wherever the graduate goes, he or she has limited resources and has to fly alone," says Achtermann . ".
For parents, the budget process can also encourage better communication about the financial support that graduates can expect and how the money is spent.
"You don't want assumptions and opinions that aren't stated, so this is a way to establish clear basic rules," Achtermann said . ".
The challenge of starting an emergency fund to establish a rainy day fund can be particularly difficult for young people who are just starting out, because they may be idle in terms of student loan payments, rent and other expenses.
Without a cash buffer, they may turn to expensive options such as increasing their credit card debt.
To help graduates avoid this, you can propose to use your gift for the establishment of a rainy day fund and suggest an online savings option to pay the above feesaverage yields.
Ronnie Colvin said: "Ideally a person should have at least $1,000 for an emergency
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"It may not be possible to achieve your graduation gift alone, but there is extra money to help.
Over time, most people should aim to save up to three to six months of spending.
Many graduates leave the university with credit card debt, which may be to pay for students or expensive textbooks.
If you know your family is like this, you can pay your gift directly to the highest --
This may significantly reduce the overall balance of the credit card.
Still, the biggest debt that graduates face may be student loans: the average balance is close to $30,000.
If you think graduates can use help to calculate the outrepayment option, you can propose to set up a meeting with the consultant to sort out different strategies.
To find this help, you can hire a financial planner on an hourly basis through the Garrett Planning Network.
The student loan Advisory Association offers free advice. Help With Job-
Many graduates will still be looking for a job, and if you work in a field of interest to them, you may be able to help as a mentor.
Achtermann says you can also provide information interviews with colleagues in your industry.
If a graduate is going to a job interview involving an airline flight, you may propose to give the ticket money, he said.
An easy and convenient way to offer this help is through the airline gift cards provided by several major airlines.
Another benefit of giving a card instead of buying a ticket is that the graduate will be responsible for booking.
Southwest Airlines has a gift card denomination of between $50 and $200, which can be found in supermarkets, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.
For other airlines, including Delta and American Airlines, you need to go to their website to buy them.
Please note that most cards must be purchased at least 72 hours prior to flight time.
Most people don't have a due date, but regular fare rules apply when they redeem a ticket.
For people in their 20 s, it does not seem particularly urgent to increase retirement savings.
But now is the best time to start saving, because the money will have a compound increase for decades.
Assuming an average annual return of 6,556, the $ 6% Investment at age 22 can grow to $ at age 65.
Ira Fialkow said that if students have income this year, parents may help them to set up a rose Ira and give away some money or offer to match their donation to make the fee-
The only financial planner in West Palm Beach, Florida.
With Ross, you're going to be-
Increase tax revenue-free;
People under the age of 50 can save $6,000 in 2019.
For graduates who have already found a job with benefits, please take the initiative to help them make the most of these projects.
If the employer provides 401k)
If any, for example, graduates are encouraged to contribute enough money to get the full race because it is free. A 401(k)
Certified public accountant Ryan Firth said that over time, it will also show depositors the impact of continued contribution of a small amount of money
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This will provide another incentive for graduates to continue moving towards their financial goals.
Additional reports were provided by Barbara Peterson.
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