Best Gift Card for Grads: A Financial Planner's Business Card

A diploma, and student debt are two things most college students can expect to walk away with on graduation day .

A diploma might help students increase their earning potential. But that debt can seriously hamper their credit and therefore decrease their purchasing and saving potential. That is why, instead of a gift card, MainStreet suggests you consider passing along the business card of a financial planner instead. A session with a financial professional can help guide the former student through their first budget , and unlike from a parent, the advice given is likely to be listened to.

Let's say the former pupil is offered a job at investment firm Goldman Sachs (GS Quote - Cramer on GS - Stock Picks) making $70,000. A young graduate might conjure up numerous ways to spend $70,000, not fully understanding that the amount is not their take home pay. If you're planning to reside in Atlanta, Georgia after college, where state income taxes is about 6% of your income, then $4,200 will go to the state of Georgia. That doesn't sound like too much money. But, before you go off on that shopping trip, keep in mind more than $17,000 may go to the federal government. That means your take home pay is now around $50,000.

To continue reading about how a financial planner can be beneficial to a college graduate please click here .