Isn't tipping to be done according to the service one gets? We were at a pizza place recently and had four adults and six children, ordered two large pizzas and two pitchers of soda -- not a difficult order. Our order was taken and the order was put on our table, which is the extent of the waitress's communication with us. I even had to go and ask for the bill. Because there were more than six people they added in the tip, which was 20 percent! Could I have refused to pay that much for a tip and just left what we felt the waitress was entitled to or are we obligated to give what they say no matter how good or bad the service is? -- Marilyn, via e-mail

DEAR MARILYN: I understand and I sympathize in general with the idea that a tip is supposed to be for good service. The fact is that you had an exceptionally large group of people and any wait staff will tell you that large groups generally stiff the waitress. They have a $100 bill and think that a $20 tip is excessive and leave $5. However, I am certain if you look at the menu in that restaurant, they will tell you that parties of over six, eight, etc., are automatically charged a tip, gratuity, etc. If it is posted then they are entitled to charge whatever the number is and you had the opportunity to walk out of the restaurant. I have seen many restaurants with this on their menus and I know of no law prohibiting it. When you rent a limousine they give you the price and then say that the gratuity will be an extra charge of say $20. You then have the choice to accept it or go elsewhere.

DEAR BRUCE: I am a school social worker currently paying more than $700 monthly for family medical. My wife and I have three children less than 14 years of age. My wife also works as a beautician. I'm considering covering myself through my employer, which would cost me nothing. They would cover complete cost for individual employee. I am also looking into something else for my spouse and three children. Any recommendations or suggestions? -- M.P., via e-mail

DEAR M.P.: Given that you can be covered through your employer without charge, I would surely grab that. It may also be that you can add your family on to that policy for less. That may be what you are doing now. There is no reason why you shouldn't go out and shop with individual agents or brokers to see if a major medical policy can be purchased more competitively on the open market. Unfortunately, although $700 sounds like a lot of money, one minor injury or illness can cause multiples of your annual premium. Walk very softly. How in the world can anyone criticize you for shopping the marketplace and seeing what's available.

DEAR BRUCE: My wife and I are both 69 years old. We are both retired due to downsizing. My wife has a roll over 401(k) at $75,000. We have been trying to figure out where to put this. I recently read one of your articles about annuities; we were planning on going this way until I read what you wrote. Our goal is to use some of this money at the same time create income. This annuity salesman said that upon purchasing $100,000 a person would get $12,000 back and at the age of 72-1/2 get $638 per month. He also said if we wanted to we could get the total amount back, does this sound too good to be true? -- W.G., via e-mail

DEAR W.G.: The troublesome part about your inquiry is that you want to use some of the money and create income. Unfortunately, the saver today is incredibly penalized. Bonds and money market funds, mutual funds and CDs are all paying a tiny percentage. There are many salespeople out there selling some relatively new annuity products that do have some merit. Generally speaking, the thing that is played down is your ability to withdraw the money without waiting for a good many years. The penalties for withdrawing are very considerable. Unless it's necessary to generate income instantly, it gives me no pleasure to recommend that you consider the low interest rates that CDs are currently paying. In the event that you are not comfortable with the small amount of return, you ought to consider going back into the marketplace. I have no problem with that if your tolerance for risk allows it. It is not unreasonable to expect somewhere between 6 percent and 9 percent from the market. However you should know that the last few months have demonstrated that there can be a tremendous depreciation in the value of your asset. Even at your age it is not unreasonable to expect that value to recover over a period of somewhere between 2 and 6 years. Never allow yourself to be mesmerized by promises of huge returns without risk.