Though “on vacation”, I’m actually hard at work. I’ve read three sample book proposals (including the proposal Leo from Zen Habits used for his new book, The Power of Less), finished two books on how to write them, and am beginning to jot down some ideas. My goal is to produce a book that is useful and entertaining, but which doesn’t just re-hash past content from the blog. I want it to stand on its own.
But, as always, I’ve also made time to surf the web, looking for other great personal finance stories like these:
“What if history doesn’t repeat itself?” asks Lazy Man. Earlier this week, I wrote that historically, the stock market has averaged a return of nearly 10%. Like many commenters on my article, Lazy Man believes that we’re experiencing a fundamental shift in the economy, and that maybe past returns just aren’t possible any more. He writes:
Does this mean that everyone in the United States is doomed? No. Now is the time to be proactive and think about the future of your field and your career. It’s time to take a few minutes and not think about what’s for dinner tonight, but what your long term plan is.
A couple of years ago, I shared a post about how much to tip in various situations. I included some guidelines for holiday tipping, but my list was incomplete. Liz Weston to the rescue! Over at MSN Money, she’s pulled together a guide to holiday tipping. (But is it really legal to tip the mail carrier? We usually give cookies to ours.)
At Lending a Hand, Scott has a list of 8 questions you should ask your lender when you apply for a mortgage. He writes: “The loan officer you select will be the one to help you find the best mortgage program for you that fulfills your needs, so if you select the right loan officer, you will likely not need to worry about the terms of your loan because they have provided the best possible loan for you.”
Finally, FiLife published a “pocket profile” of me earlier today. Find out about my favorite (and least favorite) financial products, as well as my long-term plans.
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Tipping has become bizarre. Tips used to be so that a service professional had a motivation to keep the customer happy.
ie If a waiter, hair stylist, etc got all of their pay from their employer, they would be less motivated to do a great job for the consumer. (Look at so many fast food restaurants, the staff is often practically comatose).
I have no idea how it changed, but I only tip for service. If my water glass stays empty, the tip goes down. If food arrives cold tip down. If I get attentive service, hot food, etc the tip goes up.
It isn’t that complicated
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“I have no idea how it changed, but I only tip for service. If my water glass stays empty, the tip goes down. If food arrives cold tip down. If I get attentive service, hot food, etc the tip goes up.”
Me too. I’ve been taught growing up that you tip for the service. I’ve seen situations where the waiter was so bad that you have to use tips to motivate them…
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First, congrats to JD on the profile. Well done, mate!
Second, tipping. I was actually interviewed in a MainStreet article about this recently, but my big point here is this: try to think of a tip as going up, not down. That is, don’t start with a large tip and then knock off for less-than-perfect service, because then you are always on the lookout for the flaws.
Instead, start with a low base tip and build up, so that you start looking for the good things, which actually improves your enjoyment of the meal (or haircut, or whatever it is).
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I don’t tip the mail carrier cash since its not allowed. Cookies seem nice but I usually leave a card taped to the mailbox with a gift card for the local coffee shop…
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We tip the newspaper carrier and we give our cleaning lady(who comes 2x a month) a day of salary. I don’t have a hairdresser or anyone else who comes regularly- we keep getting different postal carriers.
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Is it really illegal to tip the mail carrier? They aren’t technically government employees right? Isn’t the post office a private company that just has it’s prices controlled by Uncle Sam?
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Hey JD,
Been enjoying your blog tremendously.
Could you tell us the titles of the books that you read? I’m interested in finding good writing resources.
Thanks!
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Hi, Peter. The volumes on book proposals that I’m using are:
* Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal
* Lyon’s Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write
* Whalin’s Book Proposals That Sell
I like each book in its own way. We’ll see how effective their advice is in a couple of months.
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i don’t think I tip nearly as much or as many I should say as others do. I don’t consider a gift to my daughter’s teacher a tip but I do normally give a small something. This year I gave something that if she wanted to re-gift it she could. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings, if it helps her out. I don’t deliver gifts to others (hairdresser, manicurist etc) unless I’m already there getting something done during the Holiday. However I do tip after each service.
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@Jeffb3,
this is the only link I could find about tipping cash for postal workers:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2151050_tip-postal-worker.html
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As a former newspaper carrier, let me say–please tip! The carrier is an independent contractor, not an employee of the paper, so all the expense–car, gas, etc.–is borne by the individual. They have to buy the papers from the publisher & then resell them–it’s not a great profit margin. As your individual carrier may change–it’s really ideal to tip a little ($1-$2) each month to help with the gas. Then $20 at Christmas. Or something. Even $5 helps. Also, if you can, leave a check or even mail it (I do this for my garbage guys) because people steal cash tips left in delivery boxes/taped to the inside of trash can lids or whatever.
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