Money Fix: Holiday tipping guidelines

It's the tipping season, when service people are given a little something extra for the holidays  when they can certainly use it. But if you're financially pinched, how do you determine how much?

Weigh your relationship and the importance of the service.

"The more important the relationship is to me, the more I want to avail myself of the opportunity to really build and foster it," says Daniel Post Senning, the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and co-author of "Emily Post's Etiquette," 18th edition. "Employing the gratuity is an effective way to do that."

If you don't have cash, definitely consider giving cards, baked goods or handmade crafts, he said. And don't forget your snow-plower, notes Senning.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center published a list of Americans' average holiday tips from last year:

Cleaning people (the most-tipped category): $50

Gardener: $25

Sanitation workers and newspaper carriers: $20

Pet care providers, manicurists and barbers: $10

Hairdressers: $15

Mail carriers and teachers: No cash allowed, but they were given gifts worth $20 each.

But tips vary widely per household. According to Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder of the Etiquette School of New York, for some it's customary to tip housekeepers one week's pay, personal trainers the cost of a session, nannies one week or one month's pay based on tenure.

"Cash is the preferred gift for service people who rely on tips to supplement their salaries," she says.