Pattie Lovett-Reid

Chief Financial Commentator, CTV

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Are you generous tipper? Well, being generous could cost you – quite literally.

We don't want service providers to lose money, but Lendful Financial crunched the numbers – not accounting for inflation and based only on today's dollars – and found the average Canadian will spend $76,627 in their lifetime on tips.

With consumer debt now at $1.67 spent per dollar earned, the lender is asking why people tipping strangers 15, 18 and even 20 per cent when they themselves can barely get by. The typical millennial puts out $2,558 after-tax dollars per year on tips alone.

A quarter of respondents who earn less than $20,000 regularly tip between 15 and 20 per cent and nearly 16 per cent regularly tip 20 per cent regardless of income.

Men tend to tip more than women, with 54 per cent regularly leaving a15 per cent tip compared to 42 per cent of women. At the other end of the spectrum, 15 per cent tip less than 10 per cent, while 11 per cent admit to not tipping at all.

I'm not suggesting you stop tipping, but I think we should be aware that a 20 per cent tip to a service provider can contribute to significant debt over time for the customer. Interesting fact: It is not only large tipCreate pie chartsping that's setting people back, it is also tipping on credit cards that they can't pay off each month.