Tipping is weird. It used to be an optional reward for good service but now it’s expected. But, it’s important to remember that many service industry workers DEPEND on tips in order to make a living. In fact, in some areas restaurant owners can pay servers as low as $2.13 an hour.

Why is it up to customers to tip workers so that they can make a living wage? Why won’t employers just pay their workers more? GREAT QUESTIONS. But for now, that’s just the way things are.

If you can’t afford to tip a fair amount, that means you shouldn’t be buying that thing in the first place. Someone may be unable to pay their bills because they served a bad tipper instead of a fair tipper.

How much should you tip next time you go to a restaurant? You should tip around 20% of the cost of the meal. As a general rule, in cities with close to 10% sales tax, like LA and NYC, you can double sales tax and leave that as a tip. From there, you should be more generous if you had a positive interaction with the server. You should also remember to not punish your server with a poor tip if you didn’t like something about the experience that was out of their control, like your food was over-salted.  

There are places to be frugal. And there are places to not be afraid of being generous. In almost every case, you should be a generous tipper. It’s as simple as that. 

Fun fact! Did you know it’s considered rude to tip in some countries, like Japan? It’s the exact opposite of what is culturally expected in the US. 

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.‎

-Vivi & Shane