Congratulations if your child, grandchild, or other family member is about to graduate from college! Attaining a degree is an accomplishment worthy of celebration. It’s also a time for your grad to transition into independence, learning financial and life responsibilities to achieve future success.
If you’re searching for a meaningful graduation gift to encourage lifelong wealth, SageVest Wealth Management advisors offer ten of our favorite financial gifts for college graduates.
Hire A Resume And Interview Coach
Two of the biggest challenges grads face as they enter the workforce is building a strong resume and performing well at interviews. Hiring a coach to create a stand-out resume and review interview etiquette could help your graduate get a step-up on the career ladder.
Hire A Style Consultant
Likewise, first impressions are strong indicators of interview success, so hiring a stylist could be a worthy investment toward securing a job offer. Depending upon your graduate’s chosen career field, a new wardrobe might be in order, but grads don’t always have knowledge regarding appropriate attire. A stylist can help avoid expensive working wardrobe mistakes and help your grad dress for success.
Extend Health Insurance
Health insurance is essential for everyone, but sadly isn’t that easy for young adults to obtain from a new employer. Keeping your child on your health insurance plan (up to age 26), or paying their individual health care premiums, helps them be healthy and wealthy.
Purchase Renter’s Insurance
Renter’s insurance is often overlooked. Many young adults don’t know they need it, or think it’s not worth the investment. Yet, renter’s insurance policies are typically only a few hundred dollars a year. Purchasing a policy could save your graduate from having to replace everything, a potentially significant expense.
Create An Emergency Fund
Every adult needs to have an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses without incurring debt, but it can take young adults years to set aside several month’s worth of living expenses, especially if they have student debt to repay. Help your graduate establish an emergency fund by making a gift outright, or by contributing to a joint account, which allows you to ensure that funds are only used for emergencies.
Initiate An Investment Matching Program
If your grad already has an emergency fund, consider providing a little investment incentive for long-term term financial success. Initiating an investment matching program is a great way to get your grad focused on saving. Be sure to explain that this program provides an immediate return on investment, regardless of how the investments perform, and encourage them to monitor the balance and watch how it exponentially grows!
NOTES:
1. Make sure your grad is making all necessary contributions to their company retirement plan to secure all available employer contributions, before funding a separate account.
2. Remember that Roth IRAs are incredibly valuable if your grad’s earnings fall under the annual income limits.
Hire A Tax Preparer
Starting work means paying taxes, often a foreign concept for grads. Rather than risking filing errors, you might hire a tax preparer to help your graduate evaluate appropriate payroll withholdings, identify tax opportunities, and provide a template for future tax returns.
Extend One Discretionary Spending Splurge
If your grad’s transitioning toward supporting individual expenses, discretionary spending items like gym memberships and vacations may not be in the budget. Picking one expense that you’re willing to support for a defined period of time could bring the biggest smile to your grad’s face.
Cultivate Financial Learning
Books and apps are also a step toward long-term financial success. Younger generations tend to gravitate toward technology, so introduce your grad to budgeting apps like Mint and Mvelopes to help them effectively manage their money. Don’t forget about books! Some suggested reads include:
“Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?: 99 Personal Money Management Principles to Live By” by Cary Siegal: This easy-to-read book is geared toward high school and college grads. It concentrates on eight important financial basics and 99 principles to help young adults build financially savvy foundations for success.
“You’re So Money: Live Rich Even When You’re Not” by Farnoosh Torabi: Farnoosh is an accomplished personal financial author, who wrote this in her twenties, The book focuses on learning to live off of an entry level income versus one’s potentially chosen lifestyle, and offers sensible advice on how to successfully adapt, without incurring debt along the way.
“The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko: This classic lives on because it relays eight common, but unsuspected traits that some of the wealthiest individuals share; namely, that you wouldn’t guess that they’re wealthy, based upon how they live.
Hire A Financial Advisor
Sometimes lessons are better learned in person through direct communication. An introductory session with a top financial advisor allows your grad to ask questions in a confidential setting, gaining personalized information, tips and suggestions that aren’t available by reading a book or using an app. Make sure to select a qualified, fee-only CFP® advisor who’s experienced in guiding and educating the next generation, one who’ll take the time to explain both the basics and complexities of financial success.
SageVest wealth Management is committed to the financial well-being of both our clients and their families. We offer a free children’s financial literacy website, SageVest Kids, and foster ongoing financial education across generations, including complimentary financial sessions for all young adult children of our clients. Please contact us if you have a family member who would benefit from this service, or to discuss your personal or family’s financial considerations in greater detail.
