« Announcing the Winner of Yesterday’s Giveaway | Main | Homeowners Insurance Renewal…Yuck! »
What’s In Your Wallet – Revisited
By JLP | July 9, 2009
After reading What Your Wallet Says About You, I got to thinking about what’s in my wallet.
I went to a front-pocket wallet several years ago, which requires me to be choosy—either that or have a huge bulge in my front pocket (let’s not go there…). Anyway, as you can tell from the picture below, I don’t carry a whole lot with me:
• Debit Card
• Kroger Plus Card
• Bank Visa Card (I get points and stuff for using this card)
• Sam’s Club Card (I go to Sam’s maybe once a year…)
• Blockbuster Card (I go to Blockbuster more now since there is one a mile or so from our house)
• Driver’s License
• Smart chip from my old cell phone (I have no idea why I’m carrying this around)
• Library Card (I love the library)
• Books a Million Club Card (I used to use it a lot more before I got hooked on Amazon)
• Marble Slab Club Card (most of the time I forget I have the stupid card)
• Boston concert ticket stub (I’m sentimental…this was from October 24, 1987. I have been carrying this stub in my wallet for nearly 22 years!)
• Cape Fear ticket stubs (this was from the first movie my wife and I ever saw together 11-22-91)
• Barnes and Noble membership card (mostly used at the in-store Starbucks…)
• Best Buy Card
• GMAC Bank Card (tied to my savings account)
• Aetna Health Insurance Card
• Bank of America Debit Card (seldom used)
The article mentions that people who don’t know how much cash they have in their wallet, usually take a head-in-the-sand approach to their finances. Makes sense to me. I’m pretty much up on our finances though I will admit that I have been far less aggressive in checking our 401(k) balance these days—it’s just too depressing to look at it on a daily basis.
I sometimes carry cash. When I do, it’s all arranged in the same direction, in order of denomination, with the larger bills on the bottom (actually on the top when I fold the stack over to put it in the wallet money clip). There’s nothing worse than having to sort through a wad of bills when you’re trying to buy something.
I don’t like carrying cash because it means I won’t have a record of where it was spent (no, I don’t carry around a little notebook to keep track of my cash). Cash does have a way of just disappearing. Usually, it’s spent in the form of various donations. Fundraisers or mission trip donations—stuff like that. When the cash is gone, I don’t usually make another run to the ATM for quite a while.
So, what’s in your wallet? What does it say about your finances?
Topics: Miscellaneous | 18 Comments »
July 9th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I organize my cash that way too! But I only count the $20s, and when I’m low, I go to the ATM. I usually have $60-100 + smaller bills with me at any time. I try to collect $1 bills because they come in handy for tips on business trips.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:32 am
BD,
I had to teach my son the art of cash organization when one day I took him to buy something and he literally pulled out a wad of cash and change and threw it down on the checkout counter. It was pretty funny.
Unorganized cash is a pet peeve of mine.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Interesting… I think you forgot your Best Buy card in that last column.
I still do the rear pocket wallet (Nautica brand from about 1996) and I have the following:
NC Driver’s License
old student ID card (good for golf discounts)
BB&T Check Card
BB&T Credit Card (emergencies only)
$9 cash (cash is a rare occurence)
4 business cards (important ones only)
an ASCE membership card
a spare $100 bill – hidden (my grandfather’s recommendation from the time I started carrying a wallet, but can only afford now)
health & dental insurance cards
various membership / reward cards (Qdoba, local Mexican Restaurant, SportClips, Sam’s Club, Lowes Foods, Kroger, Petsmart)
a printed Bible verse (John 14:6)
sounds like a lot, but I recently took out a lot of unnecessary items recently and the wallet stays pretty thin
July 9th, 2009 at 11:51 am
“this was from the first movie my wife and I ever saw together 11-22-91″
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww
July 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Moneymonk,
I bet some of my readers would be surprised by that since they think I’m a mean S.O.B.! I’m really not mean…really, I’m not.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I’ve noticed the same thing about cash accountability too. I’m a college student with a part time job at a library and I’ve NEVER turned any of my paycheck into cash. Any cash I have is from odd jobs like mowing lawns or gifts and I deposit that often too. (Otherwise I end up with a drugdealer level wad of cash.)
Interestingly, I think I give the impression that I’m broke because I use my debit card so much (before people realise that its debit, not credit.) I just figure that If I’m paying for something with that, I have to be willing to stare at the charge everytime I go into online banking.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
As for the bulge in the back-pocket. A few years ago I bought the ALL-ETT (world’s thinnest wallet), made of rip-stop nylon fabric.
This wallet, fully loaded, is thinner than my old leather wallet empty. Best $20 I ever spent. The threading is starting to wear, so I’ll probably buy a replacement in another year.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
As for the bulge in the back-pocket. A few years ago I bought the ALL-ETT (world’s thinnest wallet), made of rip-stop nylon fabric.
This wallet, fully loaded, is thinner than my old leather wallet empty. Best $20 I ever spent. The threading is starting to wear, so I’ll probably buy a replacement in another year..
July 9th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
$12.00.
One (1) Discover Card.
One (1) Amazon Visa Card.
One (1) Texas Driver’s License.
One (1) Blinn College ID Card.
One (1) Post-it note with a number on it.
That’s all.
I got sick of sitting on a rock some time ago and removed all those pieces of plastic that I didn’t use on a regular basis. I’d take out the Visa and the Post-it note, but some places don’t accept Discover, and I tend to forget that the Post-it is in there:-)
July 9th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I have a Mary Poppins purse, I can carry everything I, or anyone with me, will need on-the-go. My wallet though has my license, my most used debit cards, Costco card, and 2 credit cards that I try to never use. I do carry some cash (very little since it disappears so fast) and I keep the bills straight and in order of amount but the lowest amount is the easiest to get to since I buy soda at least once a day. I wonder what all this says about my finances and me, in general.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I am a serious minimalist on what I carry with me. I have:
1) $10 in cash right now
2) Debit card to get cash
3) Credit card for all spending
4) Drivers license
That’s it, nothing else, I hate extra stuff in it. I carry some of my membership cards like sams and store stuff in my truck, things that don’t really matter as much of they did dissapear.
That is pretty impressive to carry something for 22 years without having a real need for it.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Main area:
$0.00 cash
home teaching name list
ING Direct Debit Card
Credit Union Credit Card
GameStop Gift Card
Rapid Transit Fare Card
Fitness Center Membership Card
Library Card
Company Security Card (allows me in and out iof work)
Drivers License
Temple Recommend (LDS)
The $0.00 in cash is pretty normal. I only carry cash if there is a specific purpose to do so, and most of my purchases are done with the Debit card (easier to track that way).
July 10th, 2009 at 6:05 am
Good minimalist list,however those of a certain age would also include: AARP card, Medicare card and a supplemental health insurance card. What is an old gaffer like me doing on this list?
July 10th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Ashamed to say that I have just checked and I have 14 different credit and store cards, some of which I have never used at all in 2 years! I am such a sucker for a deal…
July 10th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I don’t know… that looks like a pretty full wallet to me. You can dump a bunch of those cards (best buy, B&N, blockbuster) assuming you can remember which phone number they are hooked up to! I definitely prefer minimal. For me:
Driver’s License
Debit Card
Credit Card (VISA)
Credit Card (Starwood Amex)
Health Ins Card
Cash
July 10th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Driver’s license
American Express Card
Debit/ATM Card
That is all.
Do you really need the Kroger and Barnes and Noble cards with you at all times? Why not just grab them before you leave to go there?
July 13th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
JLP,
Blockbuster? Come on go with netflix or Redbox!
July 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I regularly have:
DL, AAA membership card, a book (or less!) of “Forever” stamps, health and dental ins cards (for me and 3 sons), Flex benefits “credit” card, Chase and Harris debit cards, & Upromise, Discover, and Target credit cards. Lately I’ve been leaving the Discover and Target at home and just using the Upromise.
I also carry my “cheat sheet” Excel spreadsheet of all important phone numbers/info, folded over and over to fit behind the spot where my DL resides. I also have “Smile Safe Kids” cards (pictures of each son in case of an abduction and I need to supply a quick photo to the authorities.) OK, I was a Girl Scout and like to be prepared, even if the chance is remote…
Most of my membership ids are on those little keyring cards. However, the lesser-used full-size cards I keep in my glove compartment along w/gift cards to less-frequently shopped stores (i.e. Best Buy.) Anything else, whether museum cards, Department store credit cards, etc. are locked up at home.
There’s always at least one coupon in my wallet, altho’ my main coupon organizers are always in the back of my van (w/my reusuable bags.)
PS I’m sentimental as well, but all concert stubs are in the back of my desk drawer!
Cash can be anywhere from $5 to $100. I normally carry $40-$50. I use Upromise and Discover for EVERYTHING–that way the transactions download into Microsoft Money for tracking actual outflows…unfortunately my spending behavior doesn’t always change as a result:)
If it had, the economy would be much worse than it is. I’ve been propping it up for 2 years now!