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Bartender shares her $9.28 paycheck to remind everyone why tipping is so important

Imagine thinking this is OK.

via Aaliyah Cortez / TikTok

A server in Texas shared some personal information on TikTok to remind everyone why it's so important to tip those who serve us our meals, drinks, and cut our hair.

The reminder is important at a time when restaurants, bars and hair salons are reopening across the country and many service industry workers are reeling from the downturn in business during the pandemic.

Aaliyah Cortez filmed a video of her paycheck where she shows that although she worked 70.80 hours during a pay period, she only received a check for $9.28. "So this is why you should always tip your bartenders and servers, anyone who waits on you, or provides a service for you," she said.


@f.aa.ded PSA #psa #fyp #foryou #bartender #server #work #tips #chooseone #CleanFreshHype #photography101 #hardwork #viral
♬ original sound - bronté

The video shows that even though she was paid the criminally low federal minimum tipped wage of $2.13, the money she received in her check was further reduced by taxes, social security, and Medicare payments.

"Of course, I got tips, but this is what I got for my hourly," Cortez said. "This is why you tip."

The rules for wages in tipped industries vary across the country. Texas is among the 16 states where the state minimum cash wage payment is the same as that required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ($2.13/hr.).

Now, if a server making $2.13 an hour doesn't reach the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour with tips, then their employer must make up the difference.

The best state to work in for tipped wages is California where the minimum wage is $13 to $14 an hour, depending on the size of the business.

In a follow-up video, Cortez further discussed the issue, noting that she doesn't agree with "state laws that allow restaurants to pay under minimum wage and expect the customer to pay our wages," she said.

"I make great money in tips, she added, "However, this is not the case for all service industry workers." According to Cortez, people aren't always that generous with their tips, even though their "state is expecting them to tip."

Cortez's video is a great reminder of two things:

First, that we should all be mindful to take care of those who serve us by giving them a decent tip. Secondly, that the U.S. needs to address the issue of the tipped minimum wage because it hasn't changed in 30 years.

"Since 1991, the federal tipped minimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 an hour," gender economist Katica Rot told NBC. "Meanwhile, the non-tipped federal minimum wage has risen 70.6% and consumer prices have gone up 90.24%."

In fact, tipped employees are twice as likely (and servers three times as likely) to live in poverty than non-tipped workers.

Women bear the biggest burden of the tipped minimum wage. They represent 70% of all workers in tip-dependent occupations.

Recently, the Senate rejected attempts to raise the federal minimum wage as part of the Biden administration's wide-sweeping COVID-19 relief package. Although that fight is far from over, it means the average person needs to step up and do their part to help out.

Cortez says that a big problem with her industry is that people just don't tip enough. Let that be a reminder that in a world where it's been painfully difficult to raise the minimum wage, we are all deputized to help those who serve us by pitching in with a generous tip to show appreciation and humanity.


This article originally appeared four years ago.

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People say these 20 outdated financial myths could be hurting you in today's economy

"'That commodity prices, like gas and eggs, are controlled by the president.' False."

Photo credit: Canva

Credit is still wildly misunderstood.

The economy has changed a lot since we all took our high school Economics class. And it is certainly miles away from what our parents grew up with. And yet, many still hold on to certain money beliefs that come from these bygone eras. Or frankly, ones that never had a right to exist in the first place.

And honestly, there’s so much conflicting information out there (about all things, really, but we’ll stick to finances for the sake of the conversation) that it’s no wonder that so many people might just stick with what they know, even if certain money truisms aren’t all that true, and even they aren’t actually helping.

Recently, someone flat out asked, “What’s the biggest financial myth people still believe that’s actually hurting them in today’s economy?" Below are some of the most illuminating answers.

Right off the bat, we have some politically fueled myths to debunk:

1. "'That commodity prices, like gas and eggs, are controlled by the president.' False. They're actually priced on a trade market, bought and sold, with production controlled by large corporations."

2. "That immigrants are taking our jobs! Like seriously. If every immigrant, legal or otherwise, disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn't do a single positive thing for me personally, much less the broader economy."

"People are so ignorant about this. The trades would be hurting horribly if this happened,” one person replied.

Next up were long running myths that were also deeply entwined with our collective relationship to hustle culture.

Photo credit: Canva

3. "That hard work will lead to wealth. This simply is not correct for the vast majority of workers (read: anyone not C-level). The truth is that the US is a shareholder economy, not a labor economy. This means that even if someone is getting regular raises, they're likely barely keeping ahead of inflation."

4. "That your employer will be there for you when times are bad. Build and keep a savings. You are a liability to them, not an asset, and will ditch you the moment they can profit from it."

"^This. Always remember this,” someone replied. “You are a cog in the machine and if they can find a cheaper cog, they will. Oh, and HR is not your friend.”

Then there were the strategies many people implement in hopes to save money, which actually end up costing them in the long run, whether that’s with groceries or with housing.

Photo credit: Canva

5. "Dollar stores are generally a worse food value based on size/quantity. Sure, it's $1, but the $2.25 box at the grocery store has 500% more food by weight, therefore, is a much better value. You're paying a little less to get a lot less."

"If anyone didn't know, US grocery stores almost always put a price per unit on the price sticker (i.e., $1.23/lb or $0.0865/oz). You should be looking at these when comparing prices for exactly this reason," one person wrote.

6. "That cheapening out on your laundry doesn't impact your clothes' lifetime. You can vastly improve the life and sustained quality of your clothes by not throwing everything in the wash together. Also, most better quality laundry detergents need less to clean better, so spending a little more on a decent brand will give you better returns. I have also found they wash out better, too."

7. "'Paying rent is like throwing your money away.' The truth is renting is a better financial move than buying in a lot of markets where home prices are too high."

And yet, certain things that could definitely add value…people are afraid of, it seems.

Photo credit: Canva

8. "Not investing back into yourself. Investing doesn't always have to be some major cash return. It could be education, making your life easier so you have more time and energy, or simply relaxing. I know a lot of people who played the frugal game and are just now getting out in their 70s."

To this, someone replied, "I tell people that one of the best investments you can make early on in life is a top-tier mattress and office chair. The amount of money you'll save yourself on future medical bills is one of the best returns on investment you'll make in your life."

9. "'The stock market is just like gambling.' You are never going to accumulate enough money to retire without using the stock market. The market has always gone up in the long term. If it stops going up in the long term, society will be in pretty bad shape, and your money probably wouldn’t be worth anything anyway."

"'Time in the market beats timing the market.' The stock market can be gambling if you're into day trading and trying to achieve short-term gains. But if you're investing long term, then yes, it's a great tool for growing your wealth."

By and large, people seemed to think taxes were an elusive subject to most folks. And probably rightfully so. Along with credit cards, do any of us really ever get a basic education on this unless we actively seek it out?

Photo credit: Canva

10. "Turning down raises because 'it means a giant jump in my taxes.'"

"11. Understanding tax brackets (in the US) in general. Can't tell you how many times I heard mention that their raise/overtime/bonus will just be eaten up by taxes.Fine, I'll take your raise and pay the taxes. No one ever went broke paying taxes."

12. "People do not realize that a tax refund is their money to begin with and that they should have their deductions set up to break even or owe a little. A lot of people still think it's some kind of stimulus."

13. "That tax breaks for the wealthy will allow some of their wealth to 'trickle down' to us poors. Something is trickling down on us, but it's not money."

Speaking of credit cards, that was also a popular topic in the responses.

Photo credit: Canva

14. "Keeping a balance on your credit card DOES NOT improve your credit score. What it does do is get you comfortable having a balance on your credit card, which, when it likely gets out of control, is like napalm pouring down on your future financial hopes and dreams."

15. "Credit cards are great, but under no circumstance should you ever pay a penny of interest on your credit card. You absolutely need to pay off your entire credit card balance at the end of each month. Credit card debt is the last thing you want to have due to the ridiculous interest rates they charge."

16. "Credit cards are bad. If you use them right, you can actually come out ahead. Get a card with good cash-back rewards and use it for everything. I mean everything. If you can pay your rent, bills, and insurance with it, do it. If you can use it for work and they reimburse you, do it. Pay the balance off at the end of every month, and make sure you keep track of your ins and outs. It requires you to be responsible, but it's worth it."

There was also a lot of talk about how our mainstream views on success in general (what it looks like, how to actually achieve it, etc) are inherited myths.

Photo credit: Canva

17. "That you have the smallest of chances of becoming a billionaire. People don't understand the orders of magnitude difference between even a low-level multi-millionaire and a billionaire. At 100 million dollars, you're still 10 times closer to homelessness than you are to becoming a billionaire. Stop trying to get there. Stop voting for people and policies that promise you that opportunity. The only way these people achieve that wealth is through siphoning it away from everyone else."

"My wildly successful uncle came from true poverty and he's worth about $50 million. If you look at what it takes to get even there, it looks BARELY possible at best. He worked his ass off from his early teens, he's incredibly smart, he's incredibly good with money, AND he was lucky, and he's still only 5% of the way to a billion after a lifetime of work,"one person replied.

"18. That you need to spend big to look successful."

19. "That you deserve something you can’t afford because you work hard. Deserves has nothing to do with it."

Lastly, we have the myth of the savings account. More specifically, the myth of how helpful it really is.

20. "Just save money.' No. You need to do more. Most savings are not beating inflation. As a result your money is shrinking by doing that. One of the most insidious ways our money is effectively being stolen is just by having inflation make it worthless by the time you'll go to use it.The easiest thing I am aware of is to put it in an index fund that automatically reinvests. These are automatic funds that follow a set algorithm of stocks (an index) and do not have a human element in the decision making. They regularly outperform professionals. They typically do very well compared to inflation, and require zero maintenance."

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This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

The map may not subvert one's intuitive assumptions, but it nonetheless quantities and presents the cost of living by geography in a brilliantly simple way. For instance, if you're looking for a beach lifestyle but don't want to pay California prices, try Florida, which is about as close to "average" — in terms of purchasing power, anyway — as any state in the Union. If you happen to find yourself in a "Brewster's Millions"-type situation, head to Hawaii, D.C., or New York. You'll burn through your money in no time.

income, money, economics, national average

The Relative Value of $100 in a state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

If you're quite fond of your cash and would prefer to keep it, get to Mississippi, which boasts a 16.1% premium on your cash from the national average.

The Tax Foundation notes that if you're using this map for a practical purpose, bear in mind that incomes also tend to rise in similar fashion, so one could safely assume that wages in these states are roughly inverse to the purchasing power $100 represents.


This article originally appeared seven years ago.

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Education

Salesman shares the 2 phrases that will make salespeople leave you alone when shopping

"I'm just looking," doesn't work.

via Antoni Shkraba/Pexels

A salesman selling a car to a skeptical woman.

It can be intimidating to be approached by a salesperson when making a big purchase, such as a car or an appliance. They can swoop in like sharks, seeing blood in the water and some refuse to leave you alone, even if you say, “I’m just looking.”

TikTok's @RussFlipsWhips is a car salesman who went viral with a video explaining why “I’m just looking” doesn’t work on a car lot and providing more effective phrases you can use instead.

"There's two main reasons, and here's what you should say instead of 'I'm just looking,'" he said in a video with over 345,000 views. “One is, we hear it every single day. So when somebody tells me, ‘I’m just looking,’ I’m so used to hearing that, I almost like brush it off and ignore it because I’m like, ‘That’s what the customer’s supposed to say.’ “Secondly, every car salesman has had a customer say, ‘I’m just looking,’ and we ended up selling them a car."


Instead, Russell suggests you say: "Hey, I’d really like to look alone. Can I please have your business card?" or “I’m really not in the market for a car.”


@russflipswhips

Replying to @SoyPablo This is what I would say #carsales #carsalesman #cardealership #carbuyingtips

The post received funny responses from folks who may not qualify for a loan. “The ‘I have 2 repos and no money down' line works wonders,’” one TikToker joked. “I just tell them my credit score and they run,” another added.

In the end, Russell’s suggestions show that sometimes, the best way to get our point across is to be direct and honest. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to shop alone and if the salesperson can respect that request, they deserve the sale if you decide to buy something.


This article originally appeared last year.

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