Latest / Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo: Protecting Purchasing Power and Beating Inflation
How Inflation Is Quietly Eating Your Tipping Budget
In the 150th episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna drill into a cost most budgets ignore: the tip line. With inflation cooling to 2.6 percent and the S&P 500 up 5.6 percent in five days, the hosts explore how rising menu prices have quietly pushed suggested tip percentages higher, especially at quick-service counters where the screen now defaults to 20, 25, even 30 percent. They cite a 2025 survey showing nearly one in three adults now feels obligated to tip for takeout, up from one in five pre-pandemic. Using the latest CPI data, they calculate how a 3 percent annual price…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.