Pop's Wallet

I'm sorry to tell you this waitstaff, but a lot of people hate tipping.

It's confusing, with people inevitably hemming and hawing over how much to tip and how much is fair, it's awkward, as it's not like you have to, and it's extremely random. How much is enough? How much is too much? Why do some service industries expect to be tipped in some areas, while it's perfectly acceptable not to even think of tipping others in different parts of the same industry?

After all, we're expected to tip the baggage handler at a hotel, but not the person at the front desk. Plus, some people believe that tipping is downright discriminatory, since data shows that blondes are tipped more than brunettes and black customers actually do tip less than white customers, which has caused discriminatory blowback for black customers by the restaurant industry.

Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt, of Freakonomics fame, recently tackled this issue in their newest podcast.

If you're short of cash but still want to get your dad something special for Father's Day, look no further than the dollar store.

Here are 10 great gifts for Dad that were found at the dollar store.

Father's Day is coming up and you may be stumped as to what you could possibly give him. After all, guys are notoriously hard to buy for. However, if you can pinpoint one of his interests, you're half-way to finding the perfect present for the special man in your life.

For example, if your dad is someone who loves to cook, consider one of these great gift ideas for dad the gourmet.

By Michael Comeau
Minyanville

To say it's been a great couple of weeks for Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) would be putting it lightly.

On Wednesday, May 8, the rapidly-growing manufacturer of electric cars became a Wall Street darling after its announced its first-ever quarterly profit, driven by significantly better-than-expected sales.

But even more importantly, the highly-influential Consumer Reports gave the Tesla Model S luxury sedan a stunning 99/100 score, making it the highest rated car of all time.

That wasn't the only source of praise for the Model S.

Motor Trend named it the 2012 car of the year (as did many other outlets), and extremely positive reviews have streamed in from everyone from Edmund's to Yahoo Autos to the Wall Street Journal.

So I'll get right to the point. I think Tesla is right where Toyota (NYSE:TM) was with the Prius hybrid at the turn of the millennium.

By Matt Brownell
Daily Finance

Walmart reported weaker-than-expected sales figures Thursday morning, sending shares falling in early trading.

Total revenue in the first quarter came in at $114.2 billion, up just 1% over last year and short of analyst expectations. And the all-important comparable stores metric likewise holds bad news: Same-store sales actually fell 1.4% versus the same period last year.

The poor sales don't come as a complete shock. Last quarter's sales likewise came in a bit lower than expected, and same-store sales rose just 1%. Walmart predicted at the time that sales would remain flat through the remainder of the quarter, blaming the expiration of the payroll-tax holiday and delays in tax refunds for softening customer spending. This morning's report echoed that line, noting that "Comp sales performance was impacted by a delay in income tax refund checks, challenging weather conditions, less grocery inflation than expected and the payroll tax increase."

Your old computer isn't running like it used to but you don't have the money for a new one. Not to worry, there are several easy things you can do to give it a new lease on life and most of them won't cost you a cent.

Here are five ways to make your old computer run like new.

In Driven: How to Succeed in Business and in Life, Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec recounted how he went from a Croatian immigrant at eight-years-old to the founder and CEO of The Herjavec Group -- now the country's largest IT security firm and consistently topping lists as Canada's fastest growing technology company.

"We started The Herjavec Group ten years ago with three guys and $400,000 in sales and we finished at $125 million last year and just today, we bought another one of our small competitors that does $30 million a year," he says.

With results like that, it's no wonder he was recently named Ernst & Young's 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year in the technology group and is always pushing the limits of his own success even further. He wants you to reach new heights of success this year too, which is why he wrote The Will to Win: Leading, Competing, Succeeding (HarperCollins Canada) a sequel of sorts to Driven.

While Driven urged readers to take risks, take control of their lives, and stay true to their own visions, The Will to Win pushes them to refuse to accept mediocrity, use their power at the right time and always be willing to adapt and change, with some special advice from Herjavec's celebrity friends like Oprah, Celine Dion and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre thrown in for good measure.

We caught up to this Ferrari racing, marathon running, cyber security expert just long enough for him to tell us whether he's truly afraid of anything, why it seems like sometimes his investment offers get passed over in favour of the bigger fish in the tank and whether The Millennial Generation needs to invent their own job.

By Bruce Watson
Daily Finance

A little while back, I asked DailyFinance's readers for their stories about buying vs. leasing cars. While many of their responses focused on fairly common concerns -- financing, mileage, long-term value, and so forth -- another trend quickly emerged. Many readers were traditionally car buyers, but switched to leasing because of another consideration entirely: rapid changes in technology. Several readers offered suggestions of ways to get the best technology -- and the best price -- through a lease.

Once warmer weather arrives, those of us who own a car can't wait to wash all the winter grime off our rides. If, unlike myself, you're a do-it-yourself kind of person, you'll appreciate the brand name car care products now available at the dollar store at bargain prices.

Here's how you can spring clean your car for less with brand name products from Dollarama.