Frugal people are usually pretty generous with tipping service providers. And now that the holidays are here, it is the prime time to talk about tipping. Here is a quick guide that was recently examined by Consumer Reports Magazine.
You may have read my earlier article about saving money on garbage. In that article, I expressed my shock when one of our neighbors told us that the standard tip for the people who pick up the garbage in the neighborhood was $100. I thought I would get a second opinion, and thanks to Consumer Reports magazine, I got it. In their December issue, they published a survey of service related tipping, including the percentage of people who tip for a particular provider, the average tip and the tipping range. From that survey, I found that the average tip is $20, with the range being between $10 and $25. Furthermore, only 12 percent of people give any money at all. This paints a vastly different picture from what we thought. We will probably come in somewhere between the average and what the neighbor told us to tip.
Here are some other average tipping costs.
Apartment superintendent or janitor: $25
Barber: $16
Child’s teacher: $20 (they noted that this could be seen as a bribe, so perhaps a gift card would be better, or get together with other parents to pool money for a gift.)
Hairdresser: $20
Housekeeper: $50
Newspaper carrier: $15
School bus driver: $15
Also, take note that mail carriers are not allowed to accept cash or gift cards that could be turned into cash. Non cash gifts that are less than $20 in value are okay.
To see the complete list, pick up the December issue of the magazine or go to ConsumerReports.org
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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