I believe that the minimum wage in the UK is still under £4 ($6). I don't know how the tax situation in the UK compares with the US, but I know that the general cost of living in the UK is significantly higher (property, rent, food, petrol etc.).

Affording a $400 business meal (my husband has his own business and was entertaining clients) and being peeved about paying a dollar to the restroom attendant who hands you a paper towel or sprays soap on your hand can be understandable. Believe it or not, a number of women do go to restaurants without any money on them: should I have fled the bathroom and asked my husband for a dollar before "spending a penny" (English saying for "using the restroom")?

Also, we do stay at nice hotels and eat at nice restaurants. We are comfortable, but not rich. We always tip waiters, the bell boy who delivers our bags to our room, taxi drivers, maids, room service, valets and a few others. So we are definitely not tight, but I don't see it as my responsibility to tip the whole world (the other three bell boys who touch our bags between curb and room, the restroom attendants). I live in a very touristy city in the UK and we have a lot of beggars here: people who aggressively demand tips seem very similar. Is begging (i.e. asking for money) illegal in the US?

I was competing in a sports hall in the suburbs of Moscow last September (I am currently a full-time athelete: not a wage earner or a welfare claimer). I went into the restrooms there and was stunned to find them amazingly clean (spotless!) and a little old lady really hard at work keeping them that way. After using them (and appreciating their cleanliness and how hard she obviously worked to keep them that way) I tried to hand her some money. She shooed me away and laughed heartily. She took real pride in her work, obviously earned a lot less than our idea of the minimum wage, but didn't want tipping. This is amazing especially since the smarter bits of Moscow is run at rip-off prices (New York and London have nothing on Moscow as far prices are concerned...).

I agree with the keeping small notes handy: I always go to the bank and get lots of $1 notes before going to the US. We normally survive on these for tipping people, but I don't always remember to put them in my evening bag before going to a posh restaurant.

Boo