[kirk]

The guide I was given a while back which has worked for me is the 10-15-20 test.

10 dice is your minimum goal for your primary skills.  15 is your preferred goal.  20 is the threshold for "among the best".

The other advice I was given was don't sacrifice so much to reach 20 that you become a one-trick player.  You're playing a person, not a tool.

[Tsuzua]

Does your GM allow the PP for metamagic option?

What's that ?

It's an optional rule that appears in some printings of Street Magic (don't recall which) that basically instead of taking a metamagic an adept can get 1 PP when they initiate (note this doesn't raise their magic rating). 

I personally like the rule (anything that throws adepts a bone), but you can rapidly run out of good stuff to get unless you buy the overpriced stuff (various melee powers, improved reflexes and especially improved attribute). 

[baronspam]

If you are getting Karma to spend on top of build points I strongly agree that you should buy your specalizations with Karma.  At only 2 karma each they are a steal.  Also, skills that you may only want one or two points in maybe save for the karma, cheaper that way.

The glorious thing about build points is that skills have the same cost per level at level 1  as they do as level 6.  Karma advancement costs more as you go up.  Get the big things with your build points.  Is your GM holding you to the "1 skill at 6 and everything else at 4" rule?  You really should be spending your build points on skills you want a 4 (or 6) in, and then spending the karma on the one pointers and the specializations.

Same thing with stats.  Other than when you hit hard cap that first point of stats cost the same build points as the last point of stats.  Its better to have a stat at 5 an buy a few of those skills with karma than to have a stat and 4 and some one point skills, especially if you are going to hit the first session with karma to spend.