Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
 
 

“What are you hearing about how much to tip at a restaurant?” a reader of this newsletter asks.
 
 

Not much, to be honest. Tipping was a big topic a few years ago as we worked through pandemic lockdowns and the reopening of the economy, but not so much lately. Are we happy with the tipping status quo?
 
 

This reader said he thought a 15 per cent tip before taxes was OK. “But when I go out, the pre-selected minimum tip is 18 per cent, and this is on top of taxes. I know you can always customize and change the tip when presented with the options. Am I just being cheap thinking that 15 per cent is reasonable?”
 
 

Your thoughts on whether a 15 per cent tip is reasonable – yes or no? As always, I’m at rcarrick@globeandmail.com.
 
 
 

On a recent trip to France and Belgium, my wife and had a welcome vacation from Canadian-style tipping. Restaurants there give you a bill at the end of a meal and then hold out a payment terminal for you tap your card or phone.
 
 

There are no tipping options to work through because a service charge is included. You can tip 5 to 10 per cent on your own, if you want.
 
 

In Canada, restaurant goers have been manoeuvred into paying ever larger tips. Payment terminals do often start at 18 per cent, and the upper limit can be 25 or 30 per cent. That’s a huge amount of money to pay on top of today’s high food and booze prices.
 
 

My wife and I are pretty firm on a 20 per cent tip for good service, and maybe a bit more for 10/10 meals and service. Also, we are resigned to paying a tip on tax as well as food and drink costs.
 
 

But the general rule for tipping should be this: Each according to their means. If that’s 15 per cent, then so be it.
 
 
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Retiree regrets
 
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Millionaires say more taxes, please
 
What we often hear from the wealthy is that lower taxes will be good for the economy. Here, two American millionaires say too much wealth is concentrated in too few hands, and that the wealthy should pay their fair share of taxes. A line that caught my eye noted how the tax system privileges income from wealth over income from work. Eye opening.
 
 
Podcast fans
 
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify
 
 

 
 
 
 
Question
 
With all the uncertainty in the market, I’m keeping about 40 per cent of my investments in guaranteed investment certificates and high interest savings accounts. The biggest downside is the tax I pay on interest income. My tax-free savings account is maxed and, because I’m retiring next month, I’m not putting anything else into my registered retirement savings plan. I know dividends are taxed more favourably. What would you suggest? Should I open a non-registered account and buy an exchange-traded fund?
 
Rob says
 
It sounds like you might have 60 per cent of your retirement savings in stocks – a 60-40 mix of stocks and bonds/GICs/HISAs could make sense for someone about to retire. Generally, gains from an ETF holding dividend stocks in a non-registered account would be taxed more lightly than interest from GICs and HISAs. But you could also lose money in the near term as a result of market volatility. Might that be why you have a lot of your investments in safe havens right now? If we’re talking about the long term, say five to 10 years or more, the after-tax returns from a dividend ETF will almost certainly beat GICs and high interest savings accounts.
 
 

Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can’t answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.
 
 

 
 
 

The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education has a vast inventory of resources for helping people understand money. Here’s a list:
 
 
  1. Money and Youth, for middle and high school youth and parents who want to help their kids learn about money.
  2. Indigenous Peoples’ Money and Youth
  3. FinLit 101, for high schooler and a general audience