Top 5 Gifts for Grads

Congrats to all the 2015 Graduates!

The journey has come to an end and it is now graduation season. It’s the time of the year when we reward our loved ones with gifts for all the hard work they’ve put in over the past four or so years. We compiled our list of Top 5 Gifts for Grads to share:

1. There isn’t a young adult who can’t use a couple bucks! It’s so difficult picking out the perfect gift that giving gift cards is often the preferred gift. Vanilla Gift Cards are really popular and make the perfect gift because they can be used at millions of locations where Visa debit cards are accepted. You can get various denominations such as $25, $50 and $100! You can not go wrong here!

Vanilla Gift Cards are not only safer than carrying cash but they protect against fraud and identity theft in that they are not connected to a bank account. If the card is lost or stolen, simply call and report the issue and a replacement will be sent with the amount that remained on it at the time it was lost.

2. The Microsoft Surface 3 is another perfect gift for both high school and college grads.

Starting at $799 (Intel® Core™ i3, 64GB and 4GB RAM; Type Cover sold separately)

Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop. Powerful, portable and designed to maximize productivity, Surface Pro 3 brings the best of a laptop and the best of a tablet together in one sleek device. Surface Pro 3 also comes with the Surface Pen, offering a smooth and precise writing and drawing experience that’s great for students.

3. Or if the Surface 3 doesn’t make sense try the HP Spectre x360, starting at $899.99.  It’s portable and would be great for your recent grad!

The x360 experience: notebook when you need to get work done, tablet when you want your favorite apps. 10+ hours battery life in a thin and light package just under 3.3 lbs. Visually stunning design in all metal brushed aluminum.

4. Now, there is no better way to teach your grad about being responsible than gifting them the Neat’s Smart Organization System! Though there are varying obstacles all recent grads face Neat has the solution!

1. Networking is a necessity for all recent graduates. Attending alumni events, connecting with important members of your community and seeking out informed mentors can put grads in touch with the right people to get their foot in the door. Keeping an organized database of contact information is important for networking. With the Neat mobile app, users can easily scan business cards with the camera on their phone and eliminate the stack of cards. Neat integrates with Linkedin, Google Contacts and Outlook.com making it easy to send contacts to digital address books. Connect with a potential employer via Linkedin with just one click. It’s an essential tool for motivated graduates looking to connect and stay organized.
2. Budgeting is key to surviving the first few years after college. Soon, student loan payments will begin and grads will want to be sure they are staying on top of their finances every month. Using Neat’s Smart Organization System, recent grads can scan their receipts, bills, and other expense-related documents and organize the information into helpful reports. They will be able to track their spending habits, keep a detailed history of their expenses, and accurately plan for the future.
3. Tax preparation is an important and potentially headache-inducing task for graduates who have recently entered the workforce. The cloud and mobile smart organization solutions from Neat can make tax prep fast and easy. The Neat mobile app is perfect for anyone who is on their phone constantly by allowing users to capture receipts and other important documents with their smartphone camera and organize it right on the app that is available for both iOS and Android. Neat makes it easy to send important financial information to Excel, TurboTax and QuickBooks. Best of all, Neat fully integrates with QuickBooks Online, making managing bills, expenses and other finances incredibly simple. By diligently keeping track of tax documents throughout the year, recent graduates can save themselves from a lot of stress and unnecessary spending come tax time.

As an added bonus The Neat Company would like to congratulate the class of 2015 on their outstanding academic achievements and wish them great success as they start the next chapter of their lives. To commemorate this occasion, Neat will be giving away its NeatConnect WiFi Scanner and Smart Organization System to one lucky graduate. To enter, please submit a photo of yourself in your cap and gown to their Facebook page with a brief description of your post-collegiate plans. A winner will be selected at random on June 5, 2015, at which time submissions will no longer be accepted.

5. Finally, what would a graduate do without Microsoft Office 365 Home?

Office 365 Home is a subscription service built to help you and your family get things done from virtually anywhere and on all your devices. It comes with the latest and most complete set of Office applications that you know and love including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access. With a subscription, you also get 1TB of OneDrive storage and 60 free Skype world calling minutes per month to call mobile phones, landlines and PCs around the world. Office experience is available on up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets (including iPad® and Android™ tablet) and 5 phones and for free with Office Online.

Disclosure: I am a Microsoft Blogger and have received product throughout the year. I have also worked with Vanilla Gift Card as a sponsor.