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

The inspiration for this week’s theme came from a wall street journal article I read on holiday tipping a couple weeks ago, which talks about how to handle the long-standing tradition with grace and without stress. 

If you want to read the full article, I’ll link to it in today’s show notes, which is episode 1521:

https://www.wsj.com/buyside/personal-finance/holiday-tipping-guide-01666898498 

Today, I’m talking about why it’s important to tip during the holidays in the first place. 

The problem with tipping during the holidays is that for many of us, it adds to the already bloated spending that hits our wallets and bank accounts this time of year. From additional travel, to parties to gift giving, adding one more expense with your holiday tips - especially this year with inflation running so hot - can seem daunting. 

But the purpose of tipping is to show appreciation, especially those who provide services to you, who you have some type of relationship with, and who make your life easier. So it’s important to carve out some of your gift giving budget for those people in your life who deserve something extra and your appreciation. 

Beyond showing your appreciation, another good reason to tip during the holidays is to give those service providers an extra financial boost so they can enjoy the holidays and minimize their own stress or financial hangover in January. It’s quite possible that your tip could mean the difference between them being able to afford a nice Christmas dinner or the gift their child really wants this Christmas, or not. 

So I hope you’ll take the opportunity to tip those in your life who work hard and deserve your appreciation…but if you truly can’t afford it this year, I also want to give you permission to not do it…it’s ok! If it’s going to cause you financial stress to tip this year because you’re already stretched too thin, then don’t dig yourself deeper in the hole with tipping people or tipping in amounts that you can’t afford. So don’t let this be about tipping because you feel guilty or obligated to. You should tip for the right reasons and only when you can afford it, so I just want to put that out there in case the thought of shelling out additional cash or gifts in too much this year. 

Tomorrow, I’ll talk more in depth about who those people are and who you should consider tipping during the holidays.

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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