The next two months are filled with events, including graduation ceremonies. If your kids or friends’ kids are graduating from school, now is a good time to start thinking about graduation gifts.
Protecting your budget during these months is going to require a lot of discipline. And according to all the statistics, most American’s are living on a very tight budget. How can you afford to give awesome gifts and not go broke?
- Make a list of all the little and big graduates in your life.
- How many gifts do you need to buy?
- How much money do you have available for graduation gifts?
- Stick to your budget and avoid using your credit card unless you can pay off the balance in full.
- Consider free gifts, such as an invitation to sign up for our blog which is filled with tips on how to budget, save, increase income, reduce debt and how to build a financially healthy life.
As you put together your gift list, remember graduation gifts should be useful, memorable and affordable.
Here are 10 Awesome and Affordable Graduation Gifts
Kindergarteners
When thinking about graduation, we usually focus on high school or college. But one of the most exciting days in a child’s life happens when he or she takes that big step from kindergarten to first grade. What should you give them?
- In keeping with the spirit of Financial Literacy Month, a great graduation gift would be the opening of a savings account. You can use the opportunity to talk about the importance of saving and the new responsibility they have now that they are going to be a first grader.
- For a gift that keeps on giving, purchase an annual subscription to Highlights. This will keep them busy for the entire next year, with lots of puzzles, science projects, and games. Much better than a smart device and only around $35 on Amazon.
These are great graduation gifts to inspire high school and college graduates to help them succeed in the next leg of their journey:
- In all aspects of life, planning is the key to success, whether it be financial or social tasks. The Panda Planner is popular, less than $25 and filled with inspirational and fun strategies to help them stay focused and be successful.
- Instant Pot. This has become one of the most popular cooking items of all time. And something every graduate needs! Even if they learned how to cook, using the Instant Pot takes out all the guesswork and time. You can find it on Amazon for less than $80.
- External Battery. We all have lots of digital devices. Young adults are no different. If they are heading off to college, they will take at a minimum a laptop or tablet and a smartphone. An external battery like the Anker PowerCore 1000mAh is compact and fast.
- Amazon Fire TV Stick. Chances are good your graduate has already learned that movie streaming is far better than cable subscriptions. The Amazon Fire TV Stick costs less than $40 and is perfect for organizing all their streaming channels. Its on-the-go capability means they can easily take it with them when visiting friends.
- Whole Foods Gift Card. This one is perfect for college graduates. They may receive many graduation gifts, but something to help with the grocery bill will probably be their favorite. You can put as much on the gift card as your budget allows. It could be a lifesaver during those days when they’re really low on cash.
- Blue Apron Gift Card. Another great alternative to drab dining hall meals is Blue Apron. You can put as much as you can afford on the gift card. The number of boxes depends upon how much you invest. They can select their own ingredients after roaming the Blue Apron website and choose the meals they want to make. The boxes contain all the ingredients and recipes. This is perfect for college students and new college graduates with limited funds and time.
- Jabra Move Wireless Stereo Headphones. These headphones deliver outstanding audio quality similar to Beats or Bose but are extremely lightweight. The headphones run for as long as 12 hours after charging.
- Book of the Month Club. Help them keep their reading skills up to par by purchasing a subscription to the Book of the Month Club. Each month, they will receive a new hardcover book. You can purchase a six-month or 12-month subscription.
