Happy Monday, generous people!

It’s my favorite time of year… That time when we all start thinking a little bit less about ourselves, and a little bit more about other people.

It’s the giving season!

Giving means a lot of different things to people. For some it’s about volunteering their time. For others it means random acts of kindness. And for some wealthy buggers out there it means giving away 8 billion dollars secretly throughout their lifetime! (Ex-billionaire Chuck Feeney finally completed his mission of becoming “broke” last year)

No matter what your definition is, there is no right or wrong way to be generous.

Here are some random ideas for you to think about this holiday season…

USPS Operation Santa! ($15 – $50)

Operation Santa began in 1912, when some post office employees were authorized to open and respond to letters addressed to Santa. Then in 1940, they opened letters to the public, allowing charities, businesses, and families to help anonymously respond and give some of the gifts that children were asking for.

Today, anyone can adopt and respond to Santa’s letters! Check out the video here, read some of last year’s letters here, and stay tuned for this year’s letters starting Nov 29th!

Give $5 in an Envelope to Well Decorated Houses ($5 – $50)

When I was a kid, there was this house on my block that always had HUGE Christmas decorations each year on their front lawn. I mean, MASSIVE decorations. It must have taken them hours to set up and take down each year, not to mention the electricity it cost them to run.

Later in life I found out my Mum put $5 in an unmarked envelope, and dropped it off in their mailbox each year as a Thank You for brightening the neighborhood.

This year I plan to do the same for maybe ~10 houses around my neighborhood. It truly does brighten my day seeing houses all decorated and I want to encourage them to keep going ;)

Fill up someone’s gas tank! ($50-100): 

With the ridiculous gas prices right now it’s a sore spot for so many people. Next time you’re at the gas station, walk over and swipe your credit card at someone else’s pump.

The person you help will never forget it.   

**pro tip: If the person you help has kids in the car, the children learn about random generosity, too.

Say Yes anytime you’re asked for money (Up to $100?):

This was one of J Money’s giving tricks over the years, not just during the holiday season.

If your budget allows, add a few hundred dollars extra into your charity line item. That way, anytime someone asks you for a donation, you can say Yes and know that the money has already been budgeted for. Say yes to:

• Kids asking to support their school events
• Friends/family sponsoring runs or fundraisers
• Charities asking for a few dollars randomly at the mall
• Co-workers or your company asking for help with a cause
• “Round-Up” your purchases 

Employer Matched Donations (FREE)

Many workplaces offer donation matching as part of their benefits package. So before making any donations this year, ask your company if they will match the donation you are giving. Ask your HR department about the process, it typically needs to be initiated by the donor (you!).

Some Employers PAY YOU for Volunteering (FREE)

Many people don’t know this… but just like the employer donation matching above, many employers will reimburse you with PTO hours in exchange for volunteering.

Again, ask your HR department if they support activities like this within their benefits plan. You might be able to take a few days off work, and get paid to volunteer in the community. (some companies have a maximum of 2 days per year or something).

**Hey, even if your employer doesn’t offer PTO for volunteering as a standard… It doens’t hurt to ask for it anyway? **

Visit a Grave, Help a Stranger (FREE)

This cool idea I got from a reader last year named Lou. And I’m actually signed up to participate this year!! Here’s the original email I got:

“another idea that doesn’t involve money.  only some of your time.  Find-a-grave.

you sign up and tell them where you live.  family folks doing genealogy post requests to the site for photos of gravestones.  (click “contribute” at the top of the webpage)

you go to the graveyard near your house, find the gravestone, take and upload a photo.

lots of walking, doing good for your health and for an anonymous person far away and doesn’t cost a dime (so probably not the best for a blog about money, but…)

what’s interesting is that here in the united states, people can’t move or repurpose a graveyard without contacting all the descendents and getting their permission.  so we have, literally, thousands of tiny family graveyards….many on what’s now federal property.  so some of them can be fairly remote.

its an interesting hobby.  sometimes if i know i’m going to go hiking in a park, i’ll look for any graveyards in the national park or forest and then look them up on find-a-grave…so you’re not confined to just doing around your house.

again, not about money but there’s something peaceful and satisfying about it.  and you can learn a lot of strange stuff….like just last week i learned that there was once a formal national group of horse thief specialists called the “horse thief detectives”.  who knew?”

Start a “Little Free Library” ($0 – $300?)

Join the world’s largest book-sharing movement… Little Free Library! 

You can buy a library bookshelf kit for your house (they’re kinda expensive! – maybe split with your neighbors?) or you can make your own library if you’re a handy DIY person!

When you stick it up in your yard, fill it with books and encourage people to “Give a book, take a book!”  (Bonus points if you fill the entire bookcase with finance and money books! )  You can also add puzzles and board games for swapping too!

A little free library near my house in LA!

Amazon Smile (FREE):

Most of y’all know this one, but it’s always worth repeating. (Amazon also makes you *manually* renew the Smile setting on your cell phone twice per year! If you don’t renew, it stops giving!! So everyone please go to your Amazon App on your cell phone right now and make sure Smile is activated in the settings!!)

When you shop on Amazon in a web browser — use the **smile.amazon.com** domain. It’s the exact same service and prices, except a portion of your purchases get’s siphoned off to a charity of your choice. Also, many schools are registered as charities so you can donate to your kid’s school if you don’t have a charity picked.

Other Community Fun & Giving Ideas (FREE):

Here are a few fun things you can do for your immediate community:

• • Donate your skills: Know how to fix bikes? Stick up an ad on NextDoor offering 5 free bike services for the first 5 people that respond. Play an instrument? Consider offering some free lessons.
  • Pro Bono work for business owners: For anyone that owns a trade business, perhaps you could offer your services for free to some customers this season.
  • Free dog walking, or pet sitting:  With many neighbors traveling over the holidays, looking after their pets (for free!) is a great way to be generous.
  • Shoes & clothes for the homeless:  Not sure about you, but there are a few resident homeless people in my neighborhood. Giving them jackets and warm clothes directly is nice vs. just dropping off to Goodwill.
  • Homemade Christmas ornaments: Follow some beginner Origami Tutorials on YouTube and give them as tree ornaments to your neighbors. Bonus points
  • 10 other ways to cheer up your neighbors: Think back to last year’s lockdown and the neighborhood activities people did to cheer up the community. Can you continue these things, even though we’re not in lock down anymore?

Give Up One of *Your* Gifts? (FREE)

Last idea…  Out of the 5-10 presents you will probably receive from people this year for Christmas, is it worth asking just 1 of them to donate the money to charity instead? Chances are you don’t need ALL the presents coming your way. It’s a good time to share your presents with others!

*****

This holiday season, let’s all take a quick break from life’s craziness and find something fun we can do to contribute and help others.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear what fun and unconventional ways you are trying this year!

Love,

Joel

[This post, Another do-gooder post about charity and giving, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

INSIDE: Do you have some personal finance ideas that differ from a lot of people? If so, then you have some controversial personal finance beliefs. Get them off your chest by commenting with them below!

Answered this question on Twitter last year, then got re-sucked back into it all again when it bubbled back up randomly this morning ;)

Now passing it on to you to give your brain a work out! Haha…

My Controversial Personal Finance Ideas & Beliefs

Here were my answers to it, and then I’ll list out some others from the community I found interesting as well… Maybe you have some controversial beliefs of your own?

Statements I usually get the stink eye on:

#1. Renting is better than owning for a lot of people. Both in terms of money and freedom.

#2. Buying Starbucks is perfectly fine! There are millions of other areas you can skimp on that are less important to you, leave us coffee drinkers alone!

#3. Always tip 20% no matter the service. So many benefits to this like never having to think about tipping again, being a fair tipper each and every time, easily being able to calculate it, and then just walking away feeling GOOD about it overall.

Agree? Disagree?

See you how feel about some of these other comments from the thread ;)

It really is like financial porn up in here, haha…

• Being frugal won’t make you rich
• Save before paying off debt
• Credit cards are a scam. (After 5 years without them, living the same way as before, I won’t ever get one again. – @MichLovesMoney)
• It’s okay to pay fees to use great banking products
• It’s okay to work a 9-5
• Buying items on clearance is not the same thing as saving money
• Index funds are not the end all be all for wealth creation
• Do not marry someone with debt if you are not prepared to pay it off with him
• Side hustles are a huge waste of time and resources. (Just focus your effort on your day job and do It well enough to get promoted while keeping your sanity at home. – @ali_fo_fali)
• Massive student loan debt can be worth it to increase your human capital
• I don’t include our home (or vehicles, or any other possession) in our net worth calculation
• I believe in getting tax refunds. (It’s conscious delayed savings. – @ImmigrantFin)

No real rules to this money stuff – gotta figure it out on your own and then STAY STRONG when people poo poo it!

What others can we add here to keep the party going? :)

(Fun mental work out, @PeerlessMoney – thanks!)

*******
// Pic up top by Prawny

[This post, What are some of your controversial personal finance beliefs?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Hey guys! My wife is tired of me telling her about all these facts I keep coming across, so now you get to hear them all and be entertained today ;)

But you know what they say – the more you know about our country’s currency, the cooler you get! So be prepared to be the KING of Coolsville today – woot woot!

******

#1. U.S. paper money is not paper at all! — It’s made out of 75% cotton and 25% linen :) And apparently in Benjamin Franklin’s day, people would repair torn bills with needles and thread – hah!

#2. The dollar bill is the oldest design of any U.S. bill in circulation — Why? It’s not worth counterfeiting! So no need to spend the resources on changing/upgrading.

#3. The pyramid on our dollar bills have 13 steps, one for each of the 13 original colonies – and is unfinished — “This was to show our country can constantly be improved, and to make room for the “Eye of Providence,” which represents an all-seeing god.” – Money Magazine

#4. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued — So technically you could still use $500 or $1,000 bills – or even large $1.00 bills from the early 1900’s when they were double in size! But of course you’d be an idiot since you could fetch way more in value selling to collectors. (Though I’d happily take them off your hands if you’re looking to donate any ;))

#5. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses 9.7 tons of ink each day — This is from the combined use of its two facilities – one in Washington, D.C. and the other in Fort Worth, Texas.

#6. The dollar sign originated from the Spanish Peso — The Spanish Peso (otherwise known as “Pieces of Eight”) was commonly abbreviated to “PS” in colonial times, and because of how often the “S” would be written over the “P”, it eventually morphed to “$” – and then took off in popularity once our first paper dollars came into existence in 1875.

No one knows this 100% for certain, but it’s the most widely accepted explanation according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Unless, apparently, you’re Ayn Rand who in her popular novel “Atlas Shrugged” dedicated a whole chapter to the dollar sign, and claimed it was an American thing which stood for our nation’s economic freedom:

“According to Rand, the dollar sign (written with two downward slashes instead of one) came from the initials of the United States: A capital U superimposed over a capital S, minus the lower part of the U. [But] no documentary evidence exists to support this theory, however, and it seems clear the dollar sign was already in use by the time the United States was formed.” – History.com

(Great illustrations above from Wikipedia/JesperZedlitz)

#7. The largest bill ever printed was the $100,000 gold certificate! — And was used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks (i.e. not for regular circulation as other bills were… Nor can they legally be held by any currency collectors!). The largest bills in circulation today are $100 bills – mainly due to counterfeiting, as well as probably the trend of going digital (no need to transfer large amounts of physical cash anymore!).

#8. In 1776, The Continental Congress authorized the issuance of $2.00 “bills of credit” for the defense of America — It wasn’t until 1862 when the first $2.00 Legal Tender note came about, but pretty cool it was one of our first denominations :) (Which would later go on to be the note of choice for all tippers, as well as the Tooth Fairy! See my movement to bring back $2.00 bills in everyday use!!)

*BONUS FACT (Which is probably not fact) –> #9. More Monopoly money is printed than real money! — Both CNBC and USA Today point to this being true, but I’ll hedge my bets with the random blog, BrokenSecrets.com, who seems to have spent quite the effort tracking down these #’s to disprove it ;) But it IS a fun fact to spread around, so feel free to share it at your next cocktail party! Who researches things these days anyways? (And do cocktail parties still exist?? Where did those originate from??)

That’s all I got for ya today, friends…

Help me spread the good word! It’s your duty as a citizen of this great nation!!

******
PS: I’m serious about $2.00 bills…. There are SO MANY GOOD USES for them!! :)

[This post, 8 Fascinating Facts About Our Nation’s Currency!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Here’s a handful of financial observations I’ve had lately :)

#1. I lie to myself whenever I say I’m going to sign up to the HBO free trial and then cancel it before it renews

Do you do this too? Sign up to binge on Game of Thrones or Ballers, and then stick around for another 3-4 months more “by accident?” ;) This was us last year, so this time around I’m just not kidding myself and expect to pay for another two full months or so – AND ENJOY IT. We’ve been cable-free for over a year now (woo!), so I’m pulling the “I deserve it” card and ponying up the $14.99/mo to treat myself.

(If you’re wondering how to get the free 30 day trial twice, btw, it’s signing up under new emails and accounts from other members of your family :))

#2. Whenever I buy my morning coffee with a credit or gift card, I never remember to tip

I know I know, Starbucks is the devil and I’m throwing my money down the drain and all that, but seeing how it’s my 2nd office (I’m literally typing all this there right now), it’s a cheap price to pay for a change of scenery. And because I’m here for hours a day, I feel like it’s my duty to pony up a few extra bucks to tip the kind baristas – and now my friends – each time I partake.

The problem, however, is that I never remember to do this when I don’t use cash! Most of my transactions are through their mobile phone app, and so once I scan my phone I’m off with my coffee and never even think twice. However, when I pay with a $5 or a $10 bill and get change back, I instinctively throw a couple bucks right into the tip jar.

I imagine I act the same way at other places too, unless they have a tip line on the receipt when I go to pay (so basically, if you’re reading this Starbucks, add a line in the app and see what happens! Just make sure to attribute the extra cash to the same store’s employees!).

#3. Backing your car into a fire hydrant is both costly and embarrassing

It could have been worse with the fire hydrant immediately exploding and geysering all over my car, haha, but I still left the scene with a handful of scuffs and paint chips and it definitely stung a little.

Much more than had it been Frankencaddy where you wouldn’t have even noticed the difference :)

Still, that’s the price you pay (quite literally) for rolling around in a nicer car, and now it’s time to pay the piper either going through insurance, or out of pocket, or – dare I say it – whipping out a roll of tape and ghetto’ing it ;) Does it really matter if we plan on keeping the car forever and just running it into the ground? Will the Lexus police come after me??

#4. Buying coins for your collection sometimes feels like cheating.

This is a random one, but it actually applies to a number of things in life. Like when all you have to do to solve a problem or reach a goal is to throw money at it.

In this case, I started a new coin collection of trying to get one coin from every country in the world, mainly just to see if I can do it. I’ve been having fun picking off a coin or two from friends here and there through trades, but then the other week I saw a box of *thousands* of foreign coins for sale and labeled which is half the battle right there putting it all together :)

“Awesome!” I thought to myself. “I’ll just sit here for a few hours picking out every last country I need and then pony up the money and be done! Wouldn’t that be swell!”

But after 5 minutes of sorting I immediately regretted my decision. I don’t know if it was my A.D.D., or if it was because it felt like more of a chore now or what, but my suspicion is that it kinda just felt like *cheating* in the end. Up until that point I had acquired most of the coins from family and friends over the years (for free) and was just going with the flow, and then to know all I had to do was throw some money at it and voila – mission complete! – just kinda lost the appeal.

Reminds me of whenever I hear bragging about new home remodels or kitchen upgrades or mansions being bought, etc. etc. Unless you’re DIY’ing it, all you did was open up your wallet! Which is fine – we’re all allowed to spend our money however we wish, but “goals” wise anyone can do it.

And speaking of doing it yourself… (that’s what she said!)

#5. I’m constantly surprised by how CHEAP it is to entertain kids with DIY projects…

Remember how we had to fire our old babysitter over the summer for leaving our kids unattended near water? Who even brought her charger with her because she was SO OBSESSED with her phone?

Well, needless to say our replacement sitter was light years better and my children adored her :) Not only was her attention completely focused on our kids the entire time (I don’t think I ever even saw a phone?), but she literally brought them new craft projects to work on every day based on what she learned that they liked.

Here’s what they did when she found out they liked dinosaurs :)

Specimen #1: Dinosaur Head

(hat + felt + glue!)

Specimen #2: Dinosaur Feet

(kleenex box + construction paper + paint + glue)

How awesome is that??? She turned my kids into dinosaurs for literally dollars! And gave them something fun to do as well!

If you ever have a chance to hire school teachers, do it. They understand kids more than anybody, and many of them are looking for gigs during the summer and other breaks too :) Best move we made all summer… (And best money move we made as well – it was hundreds of dollars cheaper having her come to our house every day vs daycare!)

So yeah, just some random thoughts for the day :)

Anything interesting pop up on your end lately? Anyone stumble across any new $$$ hacks?

[This post, Financial Potpourri, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

For the second time in a row, I accidentally tipped on carry out.

The first time was two months ago when I originally meant to ask you guys about this (oops), and the second time happened over the weekend. Both at the same spot, and both times by habit because I saw that damn tip line on the receipt!

(I swear companies put this there on purpose btw, regardless if they serve anything – have you seen that? Where you’re like “Why the F do you have a tip line here when you sell socks and candles??”)

Now many of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while know I have an automatic 20% Tipping Rule no matter the service (to save me both time and mental energy), but it looks like my own set of rules is starting to backfire a little. They’re so engrained that I go to add a tip at the mere sight of a tip line! No bueno! And although I did think about going back and saying I made a boo-boo and asking if they can correct it, I smartly passed so I could show my face there again ;)

Here’s my whole list of tipping rules around food btw:

• Restaurant take out –> 0%
• Restaurant delivery –> 20%
• Restaurant eat in –> 20%
• Beers at a bar –> $1 per beer (or $10 when I’m an idiot)
• Beers/drinks at a wedding –> $1 per drink (while they’re technically free, I find throwing in a few bucks throughout the night makes for a much more pleasant experience, as well as better made drinks and special attention. Like when they close up and you’re still quite thirsty :))
• 25¢ lemonade stands — $1.00 per cup (boy do those kids’ eyes light up!)

I feel like I’m a fairly decent tipper all in all, but whenever it comes to take out I just can never be fully convinced. I get that they had to prepare it and put it in the boxes and make sure it all comes out within a relatively reasonable time, etc, but it still doesn’t seem like I should pay extra without the service part. Which is the whole point of a tip, yeah? Going back to my socks and candles reference (because who doesn’t buy those at the same store? ;)) you’re there to pick up something for sale and then you’re off on your merry way. We don’t tip the cashiers to bag them up for us do we?

Anyways, there are worse problems in the world, but thought I’d run this by y’all as it’s very possible I’m missing something here. Plus, the “tipping” debate is our version of politics or religion for non-money nerds ;) Only we actually care to hear the reasoning in case it improves our ways! When was the last time someone you know asked to be convinced to switch parties or faiths? Haha… Especially on Facebook? The worst place to battle!

So what say you out there? Do you tip on take out? And if so, do you add the same amount as if you were dining in or a different one?

I’ve thought about tipping just a dollar or two out of courtesy, but I always feel like it would be more insulting than anything so I never do… Instead, I apparently just tip 20% even when I don’t want to ;)

————–
PS: I also have a universal wedding gift rule too: $100 no matter the relationship. You totally need to invite me to yours :)

UPDATE: Fellow reader jestjack pointed out something important: Anytime you don’t tip MAKE SURE TO CROSS OUT THE TIP LINE! That way servers don’t add something in there when you’re long gone.

[Take out box by Scott J. Waldron]

[This post, Do You Tip on Carry Out?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

5 years ago I decided to try out a new tipping rule. Instead of always trying to figure out how much to tip someone, I decided it will be a flat 20% no matter what to save me both time and frustration. Even when I get shitty service.

The results so far?

I’m a Freakin’ Genius.

5 years down and I honestly couldn’t be happier :) I imagine this is the way minimalists feel – not having to worry about stuff anymore because their internal rules solve everything! (“Less or more? Less!” “Buy something? Sure, but then get rid of something!”).

Not only do I never have to think about tipping anymore, I feel like it’s a strong, fair, amount to leave making all parties generally happy. I hate trying to gauge what someone is owed based on service or what the standard rates are/etc. I just want to eat my food, drink my drinks, get my tattoos, and then leave an acceptable tip and move right along with my life.

And I think 20% does that pretty well. It’s higher than what seems to be the average of 15% these days, but lower than the rockstar tippers at 25% and up. It’s smack in the middle and so far I haven’t heard any complaints :)

Here are the pros and cons I came up with when first announcing this. You tell me if it sounds like a good idea afterwards?

Pros of a Flat 20% Tip:

1. You NEVER have to think about it again! You get to relax and move on after your scrumptious meal, beer*, haircut, etc. No more wasting time whipping out calculator apps or getting all stressed out. It’s always 20% and that’s that! (The one exception is when buying beers/mixed drinks from the bar. That’s always a $1 per drink dealio – except when I mess up and tip $10, ugh.)
2. You come off as a fair tipper, no matter what. I believe I had “exceptional tipper” in the original set of pros/cons, as well as “being a baller,” but now that I’m older (and/or hanging out with a different crowd of people?), 20% doesn’t sound *as* sexy as it used to. It’s still fair, but not like overly awesome. I guess at some point we’ll have to tweak it for inflation though, eh? (Nevermind – Kipp below in the comments brought up a good point – the food costs will rise on their own due to inflation, so no need to tinker with the tip %)
3. It’s easy to calculate! This is probably the best advantage of them all. All you have to do is add $2.00 for every $10.00 of service/food/etc. that you spend – that’s it! Drop $4o bucks, tack on $8! Spend $47, round up and add $10 or round down to $45 and make it $9 – done deal.
4. It just feels great over all. Again, I can’t express enough just how freeing this rule is. It’s not like tipping is the most annoying or time consuming thing in the world, but it’s really not that fun either. And the less you have to think about non-fun stuff, the better. I need a rule for everything in this department actually :)

Cons of 20% Tipping:

1. You will over tip for horrible service. There’s really no way around this – you will, on more than one occasion, overpay for shit service. You can make an exception of course if you can’t stomach it, but for me it’s all about habit and again *not* thinking about tipping whatsoever. It’ so engrained in me now that I actually don’t register any type of service whatsoever – good, bad, average, none of it. I just carry on my merry way dropping the 20% which continues to strengthen Pro #4 above. They may not deserve it, but I concentrate on what *I* deserve – a stress-free environment.
   
2. You may have less money in your pockets. This is definitely true if your number is usually 15% or 18% or, God forbid, 10%. You will pay way more in the end as the visits add up over time. This would have been a problem when I was living paycheck to paycheck, or even back in my poor college days (though, the easy fix there would be to just STOP EATING OUT so much!), but for now it’s money well spent. And I can afford it. Yet another perk of being financially stable!
3. You could make your friends look bad. If you were ever a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you may remember an episode where Jason Alexander (aka George Costanza from Seinfeld) and Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld, and main star of Curb Your Enthusiasm) go to split the check evenly, but then Larry has trouble convincing Jason to tip evenly too. It’s a rather frustrating one, but goes to prove how everyone has their own methodology for this stuff. And if you don’t all agree on the same tip ahead of time (and honestly, who does??) you either walk away as the “good guy” in the transaction or the “cheap guy” – even if you split the check evenly. I’ve since come to terms with not caring either way at this point, but still – it can make for some awkward situations.

{Pardon the Spanish subtitles… Heard you wanted to brush up on it anyways? ;)}

Now is this rule for everyone? Of course not. In fact here are 6 people who will probably hate it:

• Those who don’t find tipping a burden
• Those living paycheck to paycheck
• Those who don’t like rules
• Those who feel tipping is voluntary
• Those who like using money to voice opinions
• Those who feel 20% is too gratuitous

Tipping will always be one of those things never universally agreed upon. Similar to religion, politics, the best way to do _____, you name it. In either case though, it’s an idea to consider. You can always make up your own number or exceptions to the rule too – you might find it freeing?

As for me, I’ll be rockin’ this tip for many more moons to come… There’s not many things I’ve figured out in my 34 years, but this is definitely one of them. Perhaps next we’ll experiment with the “tipping AHEAD of time” idea too? I’m sure that would help skew the service you’re about to get ;)

Whatchy’all think?

——-
[Photo cred: kirstyhall]

[This post, My Flat Tipping Rule: Everyone Gets 20%, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

[If you guessed sex, booze, and gambling, you’d be right ;)]

Saw this video on CNN about Apple stock and home ownership predictions for 2014 (more on that later), but then at the end it threw in a zinger on the people who get paid the MOST via tips at their jobs. Which is always fun to see for some reason? :)

And, as we all know, sin definitely sells.

Here are the top gigs that’ll get you the most tips (*per hour*), according to PayScale.com:

1. Exotic dancers (aka strippers) @ $25.40/hour
2. Game dealers (like in casinos) @ $12.80/hour
3. Sommeliers (aka wine choosers) @ $10.10/hour
4. Bartender (aka… umm.. bartender) @ $9.50/hour

Waiters came in at #7, Chauffeurs at #9, and Tattoo artists at #12. Maybe because new people don’t know you’re supposed to tip for tattoos?? I didn’t when I got mine :( Here’s the rest of the list:

5. Musician @ $8.80
6. Banquet Captain (?) @ $7.50
7. Waiter @ $7.40
8. Bar Manager @ $6.50
9. Chauffeur @ $6.30
10. Beautician @ $5.30
11. Room Service @ $5.10
12. Tattoo Artist @ $5.00

Prettying interesting. Not that it makes me want to change jobs or anything… Remember when bloggers used to have a Paypal “tip jar” in all their sidebars though? Cuz we all thought people would just love to donate money to us cuz our stuff was so life changing?? That was fun, haha… NOT. (If only it worked! ;))

CNN also shared Zillow’s thoughts in the video on what they predict for real estate in 2014:

• Home values will increase 3% on average. That would be good!! (Unless you’re a buyer)
• Mortgage rates will reach 5%. That would be not-so-good (unless you’re a saver, cuz it usually means interest rates on cash money will go up too – woo!)
• It’ll be *easier* to get mortgages. That would be good! (Unless it start’s forming another bubble again when lenders get all loosey goosey as they tend to do…)
• Homeownership rates will be the lowest in two decades. Hmm… Not sure how I feel about this one really. I’m definitely over owning a home myself, but for the general public I think it’s a wise thing. So, I guess this is bad?

Anyways, a few nuggets of info for you today… Perhaps you can use ’em in one of your 84 meetings this week to impress the boss. Or, even better, score a date with that hot colleague of yours who also happens to be intellectually intimidating too!

Go get ’em tiger, rawr.

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Photo cred: brh_images

[This post, The Jobs That Get You The Biggest Tips, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

So I had one of those Seinfeld moments Saturday night when I had to chose between being “socially acceptable” or “that guy.” Kinda like the time when George and a friend decide to split the check down the middle, only to find out they wanted to tip differently than each other and one of them was about to look bad, haha… Only in my case, it was up to me how bad I wanted to look ;)

Here’s how it went down:

• A friend and I hit up a hip local art show – her dressed up very classy as always, me dressed in my jeans and cowboy boots while rockin’ the hawk.
• We show up not knowing a soul – which is okay because it’s an art show, not a house party – and quickly realize it was “semi-formal” attire. Something we both missed in the flyer we got, only one of us stood out more than the other (*ahem*)
• We go right in anyways and start perusing the local paintings as all good art-purveyers do – slowly walking from one canvas to another, thumbing our chins as if contemplating the story behind each unique piece (all the while REALLY wondering what the hell half this stuff is).
• We get to the end of the first wall, when I – almost literally – run into an old friend from college I hadn’t seen in at LEAST 13 years. And my oh my has that guy changed. A complete 180 from a shy little comic nerd to a larger – more manly- ‘stache sportin’ art aficionado. And apparently somewhat of a local celebrity (who’s still very much into comics, mind you, but somehow it seems more cool this time around).
• “Good for you man, good for you” – I say as we start catching up…

Now I should pause here for a second and let you know that we’re literally standing RIGHT in front of the makeshift bar at this place. With Mr. Bartender-of-the-year behind it, and a gaggle of girls flocking around him (he’s mighty attractive).  Oh, and there’s a big honkin’ tip jar in front too – which will become pretty important in about 30 seconds.

• So the friend I came with wanders off knowing I’m about to chat this guy’s ear off for a good 10 minutes (which actually turns into almost 40) and about mid-way through our convo I realize I’m damn thirsty for an ice old beer. Which is literally 2 feet behind us.
• I do the quick “time-out” gesture a la 3rd grade, and quickly ask Hottie McBartender for “a cold one.” Which naturally means “Pabst Blue Ribbon,” of course. I mean, this is a pretty hip art show you know ;) And while I do happen to like it, the beer itself is irrelevant.
• What is NOT irrelevant, however, was that big tip jar I mentioned just a handful of seconds ago. The one now staring me in the face, along with my new old friend and the most handsome bartender around (have I mentioned how good looking he was yet?).
• My friend mentions it’s an open bar, and I think to myself – “Great! All I gotta do is tip then.”

And this is where the dilemma comes in…

• I reach into my pocket to pull out a crisp $1 bill – the most agreed upon tip when it comes to drinking beer  – free or not – and out comes a $10 bill. ACK!! That’s not what I want!!
• I joke around and say something like “Hah! It doesn’t taste *that* good!” and thrust my hand right back into my pocket to see what else I could find. And within the half-second it took me to get there and back, the horror sets in that – nope, you do NOT have any of those dollar bills you were just blogging about 24 hours ago. You spent them all on junk food, you idiot!
• All I had on me was that $10 bill which my wife so generously lent me so I wouldn’t be out of cash on the town – my 2nd to worst nightmare, btw, as I was currently playing out my 1st.
• “Ummm…. (nervous laugh)…”

Now at this point I figure I have one of three options: 1) Give the jar the $10.00 – the thing I absolutely do NOT want to do, 2) Reach into the jar and make *change* for $10.00, that way I can leave $1, or 3) Don’t tip at all and hope no one notices. Considering both manly men were looking directly at me, though, the latter was quickly rejected. Leaving me with either committing a major faux pas (at least that’s what my Spidey sense tells me?), or just sucking it up and dropping the $10 all the while pretending I’m not phased in the least.

• “Ummm… (nervous laugh, nervous laugh)…”
• “Here you go. Don’t spend it all in one place!” <—- Who AM I? My parents????”

I bit the bullet and went with route #1: Essentially paying $10.00 for a PBR. I figured it’s not *that* much money at the end of the day, and better to avoid any (more) awkwardness than I probably wanted to deal with anyways (my brain usually defaults to the “quick way out” in cases like these, whether I like it or not). And plus, it’s not like I had a million years to think about it or anything – the whole thing probably happened within milliseconds. It just seemed like it took forever.

And just like that the music turned right back on (you know, cuz it had come to a screeching halt while everyone gawked in anticipation ;)) and all was well in the world again. Except, of course, for my wallet. ‘Cuz not only was I out $10 now, but I was out of ALL CASH ON ME which as you now know is nightmare #2.

My friend and I finished our conversation, I grabbed my other friend, and 10 mins later we were out the door almost as quickly as we came in. Who I then, of course, relayed the whole scenario to and asked what she would have done in my place. Her answer? “Probably the same as you…” Exactly what I wanted to hear, but also exactly what a good friend tells another good friend in times like these ;)

Overall it was a great experience, though, and even better seeing an old friend. It is what it is, and we now have this fun blog post out of it, right? Which also means I get to ask YOU the same question now too (and don’t you give me the answer I *want* to hear, sirs and madams!):

What would you have done if you were me? Dropped the $10, dropped nothing at all, or dropped your hand into the jar and snag yourself some change? The funny thing is I’d have been better off if the open bar was actually just a cash one ‘cuz for $10.00 I could have gotten a whole CASE of PBR! ;)

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Photo credit: DieselDemon

[This post, A Tipping Incident Gone Wrong…, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

(Article today by Brandi)

The following is a list of things to consider the next time you decide to order delivery from a local restaurant (some are money related, and some are not — but all are true!):

1. We can’t get you your food if you give us the wrong address…
2. Porch lights work wonders. If we can’t see your house number we can’t find your house.
3. The street address to your apartment building is great, but without an apartment number it’s pretty much null and void.
4. You are told a total on the phone (or web) for a reason. Making us stand in the door while you write a check so your friends/children/pets can stare at us only makes us late for someone else’s delivery.
5. As much as we love looking at naked customers, please put SOMETHING on before answering the door. It’s not like you don’t know we’re coming…
6. Dogs — The only thing between us and your 800 pound dog is a steaming hot pizza. You want to eat, we want to live… LOCK UP YOUR PET!
7. Greek Housing — There are 30 or more of you for one address. Giving us the house number and the name John is not going to cut it!
8. Greek Housing — Your Greek Letters do not count as an address. We’re not Greek; we don’t know where you are.
9. If you don’t want to pick up your food because it’s icy, expect a longer delivery time. Our cars aren’t any more special than yours. Ice = UNSAFE
10. We appreciate the thought, but we can’t spend beer, we can’t deposit beer, we can’t pay rent in beer… in short — cash makes for a better tip.
11. If it’s so cold outside you need to shut the door while writing the check, what makes you think we want to stand on the porch and wait for it? Come on people!
12. No, we don’t have change for your 100 dollar bill. Would you walk around with that much cash in your pocket?
13. We’re just drivers. We don’t control the prices. Our managers don’t control the prices. If you want to complain to someone about prices, call that guy on the TV commercial. The one with the fake tan and the BMW.
14. We love talking to you, really, but the more time we spend with you the less money we make somewhere else.
15. “Keep the change” is a great response if the change is about 1.50 or more. A dollar is below average. Anything less is just an insult. Telling us to keep a quarter is just ridiculous. If you’re not going to tip at least just be quiet and shut the door in our disappointed faces.
16. Talking to about how horrible the weather is, and then not tipping, is not only an insult to us, but also makes you look really really dumb. We’re soaking wet and cold and we almost died bringing you your food… we know how bad it is outside.
17. If you’re going to complain about gas prices, we are NOT the people to complain to… especially if you aren’t going to tip us.
18. We understand that money is money, but have you ever carried $20 dollars worth of quarters in your pocket? Not easy.
19. Delivery Charge IS NOT A TIP! We either don’t see the charge at all or it goes directly into mileage expenses.
20. To the DORMS — if you can’t tip, then eat in the cafeteria. It’s already paid for.
21. If you order food it’s generally expected that you be there until it arrives. Not a hard concept to grasp
22. To the after the bars crowd — try passing out AFTER you pay us.
23. If your order is wrong, there is a good chance we didn’t take your order/make your order/or have anything to do with your order. Please don’t yell at us or punish us for it.
24. We have great memories. Especially when it comes to addresses and names.
25. Guess what? Snow covered sidewalks and porches are hard to walk on. Many a delivery driver tailbone has been sacrificed for your food. Remember this.
26. Don’t complain about our driving. We’re not all bad drivers. Fast maybe. Do you tip a late order? Just a thought…
27. If you short change us, we eat the cost. Don’t complain to us if you don’t have the money. You ordered the food; we’re not paying for it.
28. We appreciate your attempt to save our souls, but religious solicitation doesn’t count as a tip. Slip us a few dollars and then we’ll talk church.
29. Write the check for the right establishment. Know where you’re ordering from!!
30. Placing a flashing/vibrating dildo on top of the pizza box while you get the money while hosting a ‘sex party’ is slightly awkward…
31. No we don’t want to “join you”, we don’t want to “earn our tip” and we don’t want to give you our number. We want your money. End of story. Take a cold shower and get a life.
32. We appreciate the fact that a lot of college students are poor. Guess what? We’re college students…we’re poor!
33. When the door bell rings please answer it in a timely manner. ESPECIALLY if you’ve ordered a couple of things. There’s nothing harder than standing in the cold/rain/wind etc with a few pizzas and a 2 liter.
34. Yeah, we sing in the car…get over it and quit gawking at the crazy girl with the sign on her car.
35. BE NICE. We’re people. Not dogs. If you had a bad day don’t make us share in it with you.

DON’T MESS WITH PEOPLE THAT MAKE YOUR FOOD!!!! It’s that simple…

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Elegantly put by fellow blogger, Brandi ;)

(Photo by Kojach)

[This post, 35 Things NOT to do When Ordering Delivery, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

We talked a lot about holiday tipping the other week, but I think this one is MUCH more interesting because it affects almost each and every one of us.  Or at least the ones who enjoy splurging on take-out every now and then :) And I’ve heard pros and cons to both sides here (we’re talking take-out AT the restaurant, btw, not delivery), so I’m kinda curious to see what you all think…

Here’s the comment that prompted this post today (thx Linda!):

What about tipping for take-out? They seem like they want the full 20% and get angry if they don’t get it. How do other people handle this?

Well, I’m not sure how others handle it but I’ll tell you how we do!  We handle it by NOT tipping! Haha…   To me, it’s just the same if I drove through McDonald’s or Wendy’s – the food costs X amount of dollars,  so you pay X amount of dollars, plain and simple. No one’s paying special attention to me, so why would it warrant a tip? I know it’s still polite and kind and warm and fuzzy to leave one anyways (and sometimes I do), but just seems all out of whack to me. Even if it is the  “norm” (although we’ll see if it is or not when you all start leaving comments).

This is an instance where I honestly don’t feel bad about it at all. Plus, who would get the tips anyways? The cashier?  The cook who just made it?  Can’t be for the busboys or servers, right?  Maybe it’s for everyone!  A big warm family of workers getting some extra dough just cuz they were clever enough to leave a tip jar in front of you :) Haha…

Oh man, I’m feeling feisty now… I swear I love the restaurant industry. And I’m a really good tipper too, I promise! ;)  I just gotta know what, exactly, I’m tipping for. Same reason I’m sure Linda up there is questioning it all too… or perhaps we all have it wrong?  Mayyyyyybe, just maybe, none of these places ARE expecting tips? And we all just assume they do, and therefore get to acting strange when it comes to paying for our food that we make THEM feel uncomfortable and weird! We’re all over analyzing things! Haha…. oh man.  Too much coffee in me right now.  Ok, think it’s time to go.  Your turn – How much do you tip for take-out?

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UPDATE: Forgot to mention — the only reason I go to restaurants for take-out is so I can avoid the tip!  If the manager said I had to leave one, I’d never have gone to begin with.  (kinda like Bed, Bath, and Beyond 20% off coupons –  if we couldn’t use them, we’d never go!) So in this case – should I just not take my business at all there if I’m not dining in? Would you (anyone in the biz) rather I give my money to another establishment? A competitor?

(Sexy tip jar by bradleygee)

[This post, How much do you tip for take-out?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]