Tipping: I never know what's expected and it stresses me out

The mental maths at the end of every meal used to genuinely stress me too. What helped was just asking a local friend point-blank 'what do YOU actually leave?' — the real answer was much lower and simpler than my anxious over-tipping.

Where I live now, service is included and tipping is basically rounding up if you feel like it — no percentages, no anxiety. Coming from a heavy-tipping culture it felt almost rude at first not to leave more.

My rule of thumb: watch the locals at the next table, or glance at whether the receipt already adds a service charge. Nine times out of ten that answers it without any awkwardness.

The taxi one got me — I'd tip like back home and drivers looked confused. Turns out here you just round to the nearest note. Over-tipping isn't generous, it just marks you as the newcomer.

Hairdresser and delivery are the two I still second-guess. I settled on a small fixed amount for each and stopped agonising. Consistency beats getting it perfect every time.

Honestly the cash-vs-card thing matters here too — tips on card sometimes don't reach the staff, so I keep a few coins for the people I actually want to thank.

As a student on a budget, learning that tipping wasn't expected here was honestly a relief. In my previous city it added up to real money over a month.

I keep a little note in my phone: haircut = X, restaurant = round up, taxi = round up, cleaner = monthly. Sounds obsessive but it killed the every-single-time anxiety completely.

Second the 'watch the locals' advice. I spent my first month tipping like a tourist and my wallet noticed. Now I just follow the room.

OP-adjacent thought: I actually asked a waiter once, kindly, 'I'm new here, what's normal?' and he was lovely about it. Sometimes the direct route is the least awkward.