Five Tips on Tipping

2. Set comfortable guidelines: A standard tip for a restaurant meal is 15% to 20%. If you receive average service, will you leave a 15% or a 20% tip? Many people leave a 10% tip for poor service, 15% or 20% for good service and even more for outstanding service. Having a formula that you know and feel comfortable with ahead of time will make the tipping portion of the night much easier and less of a hassle.

3. What's the base?: It is customary to tip on the normal price of the food, goods or service that you are receiving. This can become an issue if you have a coupon or gift certificate, which brings the price you pay well below what the normal price of the goods or service. It is also customary to tip on the pre-tax total, rather than total amount of the bill.

4. How you figure?: One of the most difficult aspects of tipping for many people is calculating the correct amount. One way, if you live in a state which has a state sales tax, is to use the tax to help you figure out the tip. For example, if the sales tax rate is 4%, you can multiply the tax on the bill by 4 to give 16% or by 5 to give a 20% tip.

Another simple way is to take 10% of the bill and then double it, if you want to leave 20%. If your math isn't up to par, getting a tip card and placing it in your purse or wallet can save a lot of anxiety.

5. Holiday tipping: The holidays can be hard on tippers. The season comes once a year, and many people are unsure whom they need to tip. A rule of thumb is that you should consider tipping those who have served you or your family during the year and with whom you have developed a personal relationship.

According to a Consumer Reports survey, people give holiday tips to a wide variety of people, including child care providers, housekeepers/cleaners, children's teachers, hairdressers, newspaper carriers, manicurists/pedicurists, barbers, gardeners/lawn-care crews, mail carriers, school-bus drivers, apartment building caretakers, fitness trainer/instructors and sanitation/recycling collectors.

Once you have formed tipping guidelines for yourself, you should feel much more confident and comfortable when tipping people. You'll know that your tips are directed the way that you want them to be rather than through spur-of-the-moment decisions.

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