Will the downturn cause you to tip less this holiday season?

Logic stands to reason that, during a time when money is tight and penny-pinching is in vogue, tipping should suffer in turn.

But is that the case and, more importantly, is that fair?

A good analysis of the recessionary tip is set to reveal itself this holiday season. While reports suggest the downturn has ceased, that doesn’t mean our spending ways have reverted back to the free-wheeling styles they were.

So with that, how much will we pay? Around holiday time, we usually tip housekeepers, doormen, babysitters, personal trainers, etc.

According to Reuters, the “general rule” on tipping here is to give the equivalent of what you’d usually pay each week for a single session. If one house clean costs $50, toss a crisp red one to your maid – that kind of thing.

Whether such consistency will exist this holiday, though, is anyone’s guess. If you believe a recent U.S. Consumer Reports survey, it sure looks like it won’t.

The study found 26 per cent of Americans who usually tipped would do so in a lesser amount this year; only 6 per cent plan to give more.

And some people aren’t liking that math one bit.

“In this economy not all of us have the cash we once had,” Mary Mitchell, author of ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Etiquette,’ told Reuters. “But if you are in a position where you have the funds it is almost a moral imperative to be generous.

“We all need to be really authentic and consistent,” she continued. “We can’t keep saying how poor we are then rush out and buy a new Porsche. Don’t use (the economy) as an excuse to save money then buy some Prada boots.”

So, which tipping camp do you side in?

Has now become an “every man for himself”-type world, where we need to hoard what we can just to eek by? Or is tipping still an important part of society, and – at the very least – shouldn’t we offer a homemade meal or something this year if we can’t come through with cash?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money