Ah, springtime! The time of renewal, rebirth, love, sap running in the trees, etc, etc.
However, to two particular demographic slices, spring means only one thing: college graduation. For the approximately 1.3 million seniors who have spent four years working for that sheepskin, not to mention their financially exhausted parents, this is a time for celebration. After four years of frat parties, cram sessions, postmodern European history and job interviews, these students are finally able to head off into the wonderful world of adulthood.
Of course, most freshly minted college grads are shockingly unprepared for this world. After all, these are people who have little experience with getting out of bed before noon, let alone paying rent, doing laundry and entering the job force. To help ease their transition, Forbes.com has come up with a list of affordable luxuries for graduates that will hopefully make their new lives a little easier.
Now, we know that many generous parents and relatives are able to provide these 20-somethings with some truly luxurious graduation presents, such as a new car, a sleek wristwatch or even help with the rent, but there are also some useful items that need not cost a fortune. As with our previous lists, these affordable luxuries all come with price tags of $200 or less.
For example, in order to get to the office on time, a talking alarm clock and radio with built-in weather reports from Sharper Image will not only wake them up but also tell them whether they should carry an umbrella. And if they haven't lined up a job yet but are actively interviewing it can't hurt for them to have personalized stationery from Crane & Co. on which to send a thank-you note.
Equally practical is a PalmOne Tungsten E2 PDA from palmOne. This Bluetooth-enabled handheld organizer is perfect for remembering appointments, syncing with e-mail, viewing documents and, oh yes, jotting down the phone number of the cute blonde your favorite grad just met.
