100 best money moves

Moves 34-36: Start your grad off right

Now that you're out 19 kajillion dollars for Junior's BA, the last thing you feel like doing is dropping a bundle on his graduation present. Each of these gifts costs no more than $200 -- and gives the kid a financial leg up to boot.

34. Starter portfolio
Cost: $200
Open a no-minimum, no-annual-fee account at TD Ameritrade in the grad's name and put $100 into each of these ETFs (commission-free if they're held at least 30 days): Vanguard Total Stock Market and Vanguard Total Bond Market.

Voila: a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds that Junior can easily add to. Got more to spend? Pump up the stock fund, which has greater growth potential over the long run.

35. Loaded Kindle
Cost: $139 for the Wi-Fi model
Buy the best-value e-reader on the market and load it with three books that will make your kid a whole lot smarter about managing his money: Andrew Tobias's newly revised (and hilarious) The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need ($8); Beth Kobliner's perfect-for-twentysomethings Get a Financial Life ($13); and Ramit Sethi's inspiring I Will Teach You to Be Rich ($9), also intended for the Gen-Y crowd.

36. Zipcar plan
Cost: $85 for the basic plan, including application and annual fees
Now available in 48 U.S. cities (and at more than 230 universities, in case Junior plans to go for an advanced degree), this wheels-on-demand service can save your grad a bundle in insurance, gas, and maintenance if he drives only occasionally. Let him cover the driving fees -- $66 to $104 a day, depending on the city and day of the week he's driving -- himself.

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Last updated April 28 2011: 11:32 AM ET