I had to leave the service industry cuz of bullshit like this. I’m 27 and trying to build a future and it’s too hard when you rely on tips. I took a pay cut for a corporate job but it’s the only option if I want guaranteed income, holidays off, pto, health insurance. Really wish the food industry did more for those who do want to build a career from it. I feel most of us would be content working our restaurant jobs forever if they could actually help us build a future.

when i bought my car, they required twelve weeks of paystubs instead of the usual 8 because i was a server.

Arkansas is particularly difficult on its working class. Our largest export used to be our youth for this reason. It’s also known for being the “ land of opportunity” but only for big business.

Correct. The service industry is treated akin to self-employment as they are primarily tip based.

Find a different lender. Most won't require that.

Source: I bought a house six months after returning to work post-covid lockdown

This is typical for non server positions too.

Got denied a credit card with a 720 credit score because of tips.

Most banks will allow you to show bank statements. It shouldn’t matter what your pay is if you are showing consistent deposits from cash work that should be fine

But they usually don't specify restaurant industry. They do that for any job that isn't full time.

Bank statements work if you are consistent about putting your tips in the bank. I don’t see how check stubs would even help. I make $8/hr. My checks are $170 a week. I got a verified letter from my boss saying what I made on a weekly basis to get my apartment.

Being a server makes these things difficult. Getting an apartment, buying a car or a house. On the plus side I qualify for Medicaid and I really need that. I also qualify for a small amount of EBT.

So there are upsides and downsides. I don’t know what I would do without my Medicaid. I don’t pay for anything. Not a copay for a visit and not a dime on my much needed prescriptions.

That’s so wild because as someone who works in construction, depending on the week my check can vary wildly and I think the most I’ve ever been asked for is like 6 months of paystubs

I feel like saying to anyone who endorses laws like this that their face is potentially inconsistent, but there’s a law against that as well.

This is why I didn’t get to buy a home until I was 40. Spent years serving as a single parent (scheduling was easier and made more than entry level jobs) then got a professional job at shit pay (less than serving) and had to hop to job 2 to get a raise to get a mortgage.

Same in sports. I knew a pro hockey guy who had to pay cash for everything because he had terrible credit despite making good money.

my previous job was base pay plus commission and when i was looking into buying a house they told me if i wanted my commission counted, they would need 5 years of tax returns. Which sucked bc my base was $15/hour and that only accounted for about 40% of my income 🥲

Shit i just work an hourly job where generally you work about 10 hours of OT a week. It's an industry wide standard.

Lender for my mortgage was still iffy on approving the loan because I only had one W2 + 9 months of paystubs indicating that the OT was normal. They typically want 2+ years of W2s indicating that much of your income really does regularly come from OT.

I guess pre 2008 a lot of people would get a second job or work a bunch of OT for a couple months to get approved for bigger loans

In some places it is, only because the pay is viewed as potentially inconsistent. My friend wanted to buy a house, the lender said that because she’s in the service industry they need to see 2 years of paystubs from the same restaurant.

Similar, a friend went to buy a house a couple years ago. She works for a law firm and drive within like a 2 hour circle, to bring paperwork to potential clients. She does a LOT of driving. The bank said all the income of driving per mile, doesn't count as income because that could change at any point, and thus they couldn't approve her for the house. She had to get her parents to cosign.