simplifyyourlife:

Simplify. Let go. Move on. -Danny

bankrate:

Are you tightening the belt on tipping?

Penny-pinching may be America’s new pastime, but one sacred spending area may be non-negotiable: gratuities.

A new survey by Bankrate.com has found that 70 percent of Americans report their tipping habits have not been affected by the economy.

Here are more details the survey found:

·         Overall, 9 percent tip more out of sympathy for struggling service providers.

·         A sizable 16 percent are tipping less because money is tight.

·         Nearly 25 percent of people earning less than $30,000 per year said they have cut back on tips.

·         Of those earning more than $75,000 per year, 9 percent are tipping less.

Even though tipping percentages have stayed the same for many people, they tend to be ordering less, so in essence, gratuities have still taken a hit.

“When I was waiting tables in 2005, I had couples come in and buy $200 bottles of wine. Then as the recession started to hit, the same couples would start ordering less — maybe a $50 bottle of wine. So the effect of that is that while the tip percentage has not changed, the bill has gotten smaller, the tip has gotten smaller and waiters have to work more to make the same amount of money,” says Steve Dublanica, waiter-turned-writer and author of “Keep the Change” and the Waiter Rant blog.

Are you a waiter who’s working harder for less? Are you a restaurant-goer who’s slacking on gratuities?

staff:

Name hrrrthrrr
Location Los Angeles
First Post October 2007

Heather Peterson gets to make incredibly cool stuff all day and get paid for it. As an interior designer, she transformed her concepts and ideas into million-dollar homes. Recently, she made the jump to a new career she knew nothing about: set design. Now she builds spaces in a matter of days instead of a few months. “Some days I’m making stuff out of clay and the very next I’m building an 8-foot-tall ice cream cone. You just never know!” she says. Heather is highly skilled at a wide variety of artistic media, and she shares her daily adventures, creative endeavors, and photos on her blog.

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Name Natasha Leggero
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Natasha Leggero wants you to know that, despite being a successful actress and comedian, she still lives in a servantless household. She began performing in plays in her native Chicago at age 10, earned a BA in theater criticism in New York, then moved to Los Angeles. Natasha is a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately, voices Callie Maggotbone on Ugly Americans, and plays the role of Emma in NBC’s new series Free Agents, which debuts tomorrow night.

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New theme from Obox Design!

Antiquity uses a mix of subtle textures, thoughtful typography, and faded colors to create a worn-in, modern design.

The theme supports Disqus commenting and integration with various social networks along with a custom header and optional single-column layout.

Check out the demo and install it for just $9.

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NEW TUMBLR SHIRTS!!

Check out our TWO new T-shirts in the BustedTees Tumblr store, chosen from over 100 community submissions for our Tumblr T-Shirt Contest:

Houses by Lorraine Coolidge and Connecting by Wood Simmons!

Congrats, guys! And thanks to everyone who participated and to BustedTees, without whom we would be shirtless.