The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: Holiday tipping etiquette

Today, I’m talking about when tipping is optional and when cash tips are definitely not appropriate. 

As I mentioned yesterday, a good default if you’re confused about how much to tip your dog walker or your landscaper is to tip the equivalent dollar amount of one service. 

The purpose of tipping is to make the people who make your life easier feel special and appreciated this time of year. But there are plenty of situations where tipping is optional or where certain service providers can’t or shouldn’t accept tips. 

After some digging online, I found that it’s not a good idea or even practical to tip cash to your mail carrier, the garbageman or the FedEx or UPS driver. In many cases, certain service providers in these situations aren’t able to legally accept tips. A lot of other service providers can’t accept tips either for ethical reasons - like your doctor or accountant. If you have someone like a home health care worker, you might check the rules before tipping them. 

In these situations, if you really love this person and want to tip, then you might consider a small gift, a simple thank you card, or something homemade like cookies instead. For your accountant or doctor - they usually appreciate referrals if they’re trying to grow their practice or business. 

Same rules for no cash goes for your kids' teachers as well. You don’t want to give the impression that you’re paying them for giving your child good grades. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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