Dollars & Sense: Practical prep items, cash top list of grad gifts

Your assignment: Buy a great gift that the grad will be glad to get. First, the obvious: Give cash. Few, if any, high school seniors consider cash crass, but if your sensibilities are offended, here are some other options.

By John Ewoldt

Last update: May 26, 2006 - 5:05 PM

• A prepaid phone card or gift card to a gas station, coffee shop, the Apple Store, Best Buy, Target, a restaurant or a favorite clothing store.

• A laundry basket or duffel bag filled with detergent, stain sticks, dryer sheets and rolls of quarters.

• A weekender travel bag.

• Stamped, addressed postcards and a sheet of extra stamps.

• A survival kit filled with bandages, headache remedies, liquid soap, Q-tips, manicure set, hand lotion and small tools for hanging shelves and pictures.

• A T-shirt, cap or sweatpants from the senior's future college. Items can be purchased on the college website or in campus bookstores.

• A personal finance book that explains the awesome power and responsibility of having a credit card.

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633 or by sending a fax to 612-673-4359. His articles are online at www.startribune.com/dollars.