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Have you ever found yourself sitting in a restaurant or at the hairdresser, frantically trying to figure an appropriate amount to tip? Should you play it safe and overtip? Should you factor in the quality of the service? You fear coming off as cheap, but you don’t want to give out free money, either.

Everyone struggles at one time or another with tipping, and these are only some of the issues that can affect one’s tipping decision. Gratuities have risen in the past decade, and remembering what amount is appropriate can be a tough task.

Fortunately, Lending Club sets a prime example for tipping etiquette. Lending Club helps connect people who need a personal loan with those who are seeking a rewarding investment path. The site’s annual average performance for a personal loan portfolio is over 12 percent, and the top performing portfolios earn lenders on Lending Club over 18.5 percent on their investments.

That latter number seems to be a perfect antidote for the oft-puzzling problem of proper tipping. For those who struggle with just how much to give in gratuity, the Lending Club return of 18.5 percent is a happy medium.

CNN Money reported on the appropriate amount to tip in certain situations. For the most part, the average tip was 15 percent, which remains a pretty standard rate in today’s service economy. Some businesses demand higher rates, and the type of service received can also fluctuate the percentage, according to the article.

Paying 15 percent might be normal, but doing things the Lending Club way is commendable. No one likes a thrifty tipper, so keeping to the 18.5 percent gratuity can make a big difference. Here are five situations where the Lending Club tip rule can safely be applied.

Tipping 18.5 percent at restaurants

Years ago, the standard tip at a restaurant was 10 percent. Today, if someone were to attempt such a paltry gratuity, he would be seen as cheap or rude, or both. Fifteen percent seems to be the acceptable norm, and anything less would speak to poor service by the wait staff or poor math skills by the customer.

Tipping 18.5 percent, then, would appear generous, benevolent, and downright charitable. Dinner guests would find you charming, fellow diners would find you wealthy, and the waitress might find you a free dessert next time you visit.

Figuring the tip is relatively easy, too. Let’s assume the bill comes to $23.50 (you took your date to a pretty cheap restaurant). To calculate a 10 percent tip, take the total and simply move the decimal point one space to the left. A 10 percent gratuity on a bill of $23.50 would be $2.35. Doubling the 10 percent tip would give you the amount for a 20 percent gratuity ($4.70). A few cents less than that would be the 18.5 percent Lending Club tip ($4.35 to be exact).

Tipping 18.5 percent at the hairdresser

Barbers and hair stylists have a largely thankless job. They are only really recognized when they do something wrong, like shave a cartoon into the back of your head or cut your ear. A good haircut is supposed to say, “Don’t bother looking at my hair because it is normal, socially acceptable, and not nearly as visually appealing as the fact that I work out.”

Yet the importance of this service is immeasurable. With the options of never cutting your hair or doing the deed yourself, a salon provides a pretty necessary function. And shouldn’t its employees be rewarded for it?

An 18.5 percent tip would be an appropriate compensation for making sure you don’t look like a Neanderthal, 80’s train wreck, which is exactly what would happen if you took scissors into your own hands. Plus, the barber might even let you double-dip in the lollipop jar.

Assuming the haircut is a 50-dollar visit, an 18.5 percent tip would result in $9.25 extra for your hairdresser. Figuring other tip amounts is simple. For every 10 dollars, just add or subtract two dollars from your tip total. A 40-dollar haircut would yield a 7-dollar tip, a 60-dollar trim would call for an 11-dollar thank you, and so on.

Tipping 18.5 percent at the spa

For many, the spa is a great way to relieve stress and treat oneself, so those doing the work for you should be justly rewarded.

Whether the spa day includes just a massage and soak or if the visit turns into a day-trip with mud packs, manicures, and the works, an 18.5 percent tip would be an appreciated gratuity for the people who work so hard to make you feel so special.

A big spa day could cost $150, so a Lending Club tip will be a fine tip for the spa staff. At 18.5 percent, you would be giving out 28 dollars—a price tag that feels a lot better after that nap in the sauna.

Tipping 18.5 percent to the pizza delivery guy

One of the most widely debated tips is the one given to the pizza delivery guy. Some people throw a few bucks his way, and others treat the service like a standard restaurant tab. Still others choose not to give the poor guy anything.

Customers choose their different gratuities for a wide variety of reasons. Some believe that the delivery charge is included in the price. Others don’t really see the value in the service. A few find it easier on the conscience to stiff someone at home rather than in their place of business. But regardless of the justification, pizza delivery is a valuable service that should be rightly compensated. These people bring food to your homes; how great is that? The delivery man saves you the hassle of driving out to get dinner, waiting in line, fighting traffic, and wasting valuable free time. That is worth an 18.5 percent Lending Club tip right there.

A 12-dollar pizza is an easy two-dollar tip, and no one should be cheap enough to deny the deliveryman that.

Tipping 18.5 percent to the taxi driver

Getting around a big city can be hectic, stressful, and time-consuming, which is exactly why taxi drivers deserve Lending Club’s 18.5 percent tip.

For many urban dwellers, taxis are their only means of transportation. City buses only go through certain routes, and riding a bike doesn’t always fit in with a schedule or dress code. Taxis also provide a great service for out-of-towners, businesspeople and tourists.

As such, tipping 18.5 percent seems more than reasonable. Though some might feel that the fare is enough price to pay for a ride through traffic, taxi drivers offer a service that is quite important, if not appreciated.

Tipping 18.5 percent on a 20-dollar fare is $3.70 out of your pocket, which is a fine price to pay to avoid morning road rage.

Be sure to check out the article for more tips on tipping!

On March 5th, Fidelity Investments [fidelity.com] released the results of the company’s study on the costs of retirement. The conclusion was that a 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $225,000 to cover healthcare costs.

What makes this number even worse (it’s up 4.7% from last year) is that retirement savings have to go to more than just healthcare. Rising life expectancy also means that other costs, like food and housing, will require more savings in retirement as well. The study included costs for Medicare premiums, co-payments, deductibles, and prescription costs not covered by Medicare.

The good news is that not everyone will face such high costs. The study assumed that the couple did not have retiree health insurance from a former employer. Some people, particularly those who worked in the public sector, do have such benefits. The only other good piece of news is that this year’s increase (4.7%) is less than the average increase (5.8%) since the study began in 2002.

As part of the release, Executive Vice President of Fidelity Investments Brad Kimler said, "With health care costs continuing to outpace wage increases and companies trimming retiree health benefits, financing health care has to be central to retirement planning. Given current economic conditions, this is especially true for those planning to retire in the next few years or before they qualify for full Social Security or Medicare benefits."

These latest results stress the importance of proper retirement planning. Gone are the days when fat pension checks and benefits for life were the norm. Taking personal responsibility for your retirement isn’t just a smart option; in many cases it’s the only option. If credit card debt is getting in the way of fully funding your retirement accounts, get rid of it quickly by consolidating with a person-to-person loan from Lending Club. Your ailing future self will certainly appreciate it.

If you've tried many different budget methods and can't seem to find one that works for you, you might want to try something drastic: going on an all-cash diet.

The idea of using cash is so old-fashioned that it might be just what you need to get yourself out of your financial funk. Using cash has its downsides: no interest on the money, having to go to the bank or ATM to get it out, and the liability of carrying a large sum around are a few that come to mind. For those downsides, there is one major upside: when you live on an all-cash diet, you can't spend more than you have.

There are some aspects of our financial lives that require money in forms other than cash. A few examples include paying your mortgage, booking a hotel, or taking the proceeds from a person-to-person loan on Lending Club. Even these items can fit into your all-cash exercise. If you are taking your entire paycheck out in cash, then you will probably have to deposit some of it back into your account to cover checks that you write for your mortgage, etc. It may seem like a futile exercise to take money out, only to put it back in later, but this will give you a good sense of how much each of your expenses is really costing you. Seeing a huge portion of your paycheck getting deposited to cover your mortgage may lead you to rethink the type of house you're living in. Using cash, if only for a short while, can really help you to see where you're living beyond your means, and where you’re not.

There are many cash-based budgeting methods, but the most well known is the envelope method. Here's an overview. The same reasons that it’s better to give a kid a piggy bank than a savings account apply here as well. Sometimes holding money in your hand can help you appreciate its value more and get you to make smarter spending decisions.

Once you get better at money management and tracking where your cash goes, you can slowly migrate back into the cashless society. Meanwhile, the lessons learned from your all-cash diet can easily be applied to your regular finances.

Does anyone still call their stock broker? A number of new start-ups hope you’ll turn to their online communities instead of picking up that phone. And even with the turmoil on Wall Street, financial start-ups are growing like weeds, though many Americans’ portfolios are not.

From free trades to social lending, these companies are changing the way we interact with Wall Street and our portfolios. Who would you rather trust: an online investment community or your stock broker?

Investment Web 2.0 Style

Cake Financial – Their logo says Alpha, but Cake is slick. Cake aggregates your investment portfolios and allows you to compare and track your performance against that of the cake community. Setup takes 5 minutes. If you’ve ever been curious to see what other real investors’ portfolios look like, Cake makes it easy. I’m beating the market….though still down for the year. Crap.

Covestor – Do you ever dream of running a hedge fund? Covestor gives you the investment opportunity of becoming a money manager right from your bedroom. From their website, Covestor is:

“A real-trade sharing service for proven self-investors. To share your real investment decisions, gain recognition and earn fees by helping others.”

Only active traders are allowed to earn fees, and there are some obvious legal questions regarding giving stock advice. But if you’re hot stuff and can prove it with your trades, you should start building up a following at Covestor now.

The UpDown – Similar to Covestor, The UpDown allows you to compare your investment performance to the community and get paid for it. At UpDown however, your portfolio is play money. Perform well, and you can earn real money. My portfolio was up 7.95% in February. I made $1.37 in real money for my play performance. It’s a bit like Fantasy Football for investors.

Too bad that million dollar portfolio wasn’t real! UpDown’s trade platform feels and acts very real, and it’s addictive. If you think you’re a great trader, strut your stuff on UpDown and play without the risk. You start with $1,000,000 cash.

Zecco – Zecco launched last year with the offer of “free trades” for all. That promise has since been scaled back to 10 free trades a month provided you have $2,500 to deposit. While I’ve heard rumbles of customer service issues, if you’re an options trader, a $4.50 base is pretty cheap. Once I can scratch together $2,500, I’ll be opening an account here to try out.

Their social angle is called “ZeccoShare.” Here, Zecco clients can share their investment portfolios as well as see top holdings across the community. Not as advanced as Covestor or Cake, but Zecco is the all-in-one deal: brokerage and community.

How will Web 2.0 change Wall Street?

Will Web 2.0 and social networking communities change Wall Street? Has it already? Share your thoughts with your fellow Lending Club blog readers!

Our financial lives may start at an early age, but it’s not until we’re living on our own that our money management skills get put to the test. A proper start can make a huge difference.

It’s no surprise that many people have a hard time with their finances right after college. Between college debt, the startup costs of an adult life, and a lack of experience handling money, there are a lot of factors against you. A first “real job” may also bring in much more money than you’re used to having. It’s easy to settle into the mentality that you have plenty of money, enough to not worry about keeping track of it. In reality, entry-level pay tends not to be all that great, and you might not realize that you’re making only just enough to get by. Along with the newfound riches come newfound expenses as well. So keep track of your finances to stay on top of them.

In your twenties, planning for the future may seem like a low priority. I’m not just talking about goals that are way down the line, like retirement. Even goals that may be coming sooner than you think, such as purchasing a first home, seem far off. At this point in your life, you have an asset that others can never hope to re-attain: time. Having time allows you to put away less money now for the same benefit as putting away more later. Even if you realize that starting to invest early is the right way to go, finding the money to start may be difficult.

You may be tempted to pay off any outstanding student loans as quickly as possible. That’s an admirable goal, but not necessarily the best use of your money. Student loans tend to carry extremely low interest rates, which would be hard to find through other means. So instead of paying down your student loan debt quickly, at the cost of letting credit card debt accrue, using any extra money that you can scrape together to pay down credit card debt is probably a better way to go.

Person-to-person loans from Lending Club carry interest rates that are between those of most student loan debt on the one hand and credit card debt on the other. You can use such loans to pay down higher interest rate credit card debt and help to fund your long-term goals. Lowering your overall monthly payment towards debt will open up a whole new world of savings possibilities. Paying off your highest interest rate debt first (after making at least the minimum payments on your other debts) will yield the most savings. When you finally have only student loan debt remaining, which likely has the lowest interest rate of all of your debts, you can then begin to pay that off at an accelerated rate.