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« Merit Alone May Not Get You that Promotion |Main| Reader Profile: GB »Is Your Wallet Too Fat?Smart Money laments the size of Americans' wallets with the following comments:
Here, on the posterior of many an American professional, lies one of the more unexpected twists in the evolution of personal finance. At a time when people seem increasingly reliant on their smartphones for all manner of interactions with the world, that oldest of handheld devices -- the wallet -- has remained a surprisingly enduring accessory. Indeed, for some people, the wallet is not only not disappearing, it's getting fatter -- with many Americans now hauling around so much stuff in their pockets that their billfolds have become, in the apt phrasing of one longtime lugger, "roving file cabinets." Even wallet makers, who have been pushing slimmer models for years, seem flummoxed by the trend: That plump bifold behemoth "is still our best seller," says a spokesperson for Wilsons Leather, one of the nation's oldest wallet specialists.
They offer some ideas on what to carry and not carry -- so you don't have to worry about carrying around a file cabinet the rest of your life. :-)
I last told what I carry in my wallet when I detailed my credit card strategy. Since then, things have changed a bit. Here's an update on my wallet status:
I got a new "money clip" from Walmart. It's a small, fake leather, bi-fold card holder with a money clip on the outside.In the clip I carry cash (on the outside), my driver's license (in a see-through slot), my debit card (part of the high-yield account plan at my credit union -- I'll give you an update on how that's going in the next month or so.)
Four credit cards fit in as well. These are all the slots I need to easily manage my new credit card strategy.
My money clip is small enough that I can carry it in my left, front pants pocket.
No filing cabinet for me, though what I currently carry is a bit bigger than what I used to carry because I now have two extra cards -- a debit card and a new credit card.
So, as they say, what's in your wallet?
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I follow your trend pretty closely. Alot of us use the wallet to store receipts from purchases. My goodness people you have the best filling cabinet in the world in your other pants pocket. It is called your phone! Take a picture of the receipt when you get to your car and get rid of that receipt. What is even better is if you use an app like say Evernote, Springpad(personal fav), onenote. They will organize your receipts for you in a matter of moments and away you go.
I carry nothing in my wallet besides 2 credit cards, drivers license and 2 insurance cards(health auto). Everything else is in the smart phone and backed up to a secure location on my personal laptop all the time.
Posted by:Rod |September 21, 2011 at 11:00 AMI carry a file cabinet in my back pocket. (Or cargo-pants-pocket when I can.)
Let's see.... cash, driver's license, minister ID card, photo of my wife, debit/ATM card (for deposits), 2 credit cards, 3-4 business cards (mine), a couple of discount cards, library card, auto insurance info, health insurance card, card that gets me into the high school football games for free, checks I need to deposit (none at the moment), and receipts.
Whew!
The receipts wouldn't be so bad if I would deal with them daily... or even weekly. They tend to stack up until it's ridiculous (3-5 weeks), and then I take them all out & deal with them. I have to turn them in for reimbursement, which means taking photos of them isn't going to work... not when I'd just have to print them out again!
Anyway, it's not really a very thick file cabinet, especially when I've emptied out the receipts. It's maybe 2 iPhone 4's thick (the only thing I have handy to measure it by). I've seen people with wallets 2-3 times as fat as mine. I have no idea what they're carrying in there.
Posted by:Rich Schmidt |September 21, 2011 at 11:20 AMI currently have
1 Credit Card
1 Debit Card
1 Post-It note to myself
1 $20 bill
1 $1 bill
1 Driver's license
2 Auto Insurance cards, one for my car, one for my truck
1 Library Card for the local municipal library
1 Library Card for the scientific/technical library here on base
1 Health Insurance Card
1 Dental Insurance Card
1 Air Medical Services Card, which my health insurer instructs me to keep on my person at all times.
That's pretty typical. Usually I have a bit more cash, and no Post-It! note. I have a very slim, tiny, wallet, which I started carrying because I'm often in places where I want to slip it into my front pocket.
Posted by:MattJ |September 21, 2011 at 11:38 AMI've got 3 credit cards, 3 ATM cards, driver's license, insurance cards, Costco and library card, electronic key card to my office parking lot, and some K-1 Speed gift cards. And cash - I like to have about $100 cash on hand.
I never use 1 of the credit cards or any of the ATM cards or any of the insurance cards, but they're things that you want to have when you DO need them. Also, I don't have any better place to store them, and if I take too much stuff out of my wallet then what's left falls out too easily because it's not packed in tight enough.
I use a tri-fold, so it gets pretty thick if I carry around much more cash. I put it in my back pocket while walking around, but always take it out when I sit down because I don't enjoy sitting on a slant.
Posted by:Jonathan |September 21, 2011 at 11:49 AMI travel a significant amount (on a plane now with my iPad). As such, I carry a portfolio in my work bag for all my frequent traveler cards (hotels, airlines, etc) and receipts. That keeps my wallet light.
Posted by:JimL |September 21, 2011 at 11:53 AMFat wallets are uncomfortable and a pain to put in your pocket. I keep a Johnston & Murphy "weekender" http://www.johnstonmurphy.com/product.aspx?c=759&pid=56771 in my front pants pocket. It's small, lightweight and comfortable. All I need is my driver's license, my debit card and my new Chase Freedom card.... hassle free, I highly recommend it.
Posted by:texashaze |September 21, 2011 at 12:07 PMAnd not one mention of the Costanza Wallet?
Posted by:David C |September 21, 2011 at 12:57 PM2 personal credit cards, business credit card, Barnes and Noble, REI, and Sam's club discount membership cards, drivers' license, health insurance card, some of my business cards, a few business cards of others, couple of gift cards I need to remember to spend, a few receipts for purchased items I might want to return, misc cash, cash, stamps, and band-aids (yeah I'm a mom). That's all in my wallet.
I also always carry a checkbook and a smart phone with my addresses, calendars, and notes on it, all in my purse, obviously. My purse also contains other critical items including a comb, lipstick, medications, kleenex, my keys, pen and paper and, when I travel, a laptop and a bottle of water.
I am always amused by the people who brag about how light they travel compared to me. But they ask the woman with the purse when they need a pen, kleenex, aspirin, and a bandaid for that papercut they just got so they don't bleed all over the place during the presentation!
Posted by:MC |September 21, 2011 at 01:07 PMMC --
Ha! That's probably why I can carry so little -- my wife has all the "extra" stuff with her. ;-)
Posted by:FMF |September 21, 2011 at 01:09 PMDavid C, I made an indirect reference to it...sitting on a slant. My friend is not morbidly obese, but it's uncomfortable nonetheless.
Posted by:Jonathan |September 21, 2011 at 01:40 PMI have found that I have been carrying around a lot of store club cards with me that have been adding to the girth of my wallet. Tried to go CardStar app on my phone to store them all but few of the store scanners can read the bar code off the phone. When it works it is great but when it doesn't you are stuck in line with the tab all run up and you lose money without the card. I hate the little fobs that are suppose to go on your keyring (rather have the discomfort on my backside rather than jabbing me in the front side from my keyring in my front pocket!)
I understand the medical insurance cards but I am curious as to why people have their auto insurance card in their wallet. I have always kept my insurance with my registration in the car glve box not on my person in case someoen else is operating the vehicle.
sometimes magnetic strip on Cards (Not only credit/debit, but driver license / lib. card etc.) gets eroded if you have too many cards in clip
Posted by:Jani |September 21, 2011 at 02:53 PMToo much:
5 credit cards (3 too many, waiting for Schawb card to die on 10/31) incl. business card
ID
Parking Card
National Emerald Club Card
$$$
3 bank cards (need to get rid of 2)
Dental and health cards (do I need these?)
Wow... I need a money clip and to get rid of most of this stuff.
I used jcrew's magic wallet. It's amazing! Fits everything I need for my card strategy, and is a great size. And I buy it at the outlets, so it's cheap too.
Posted by:KTB |September 21, 2011 at 03:55 PM1 drivers license
3 photos
4 business cards
4 credit cards
3 debit cards
7 store/misc cards
25 other various cards and misc items
7 receipts
$89 in cash
Yeah its WAY too much and I have a bad habit of carrying all that junk around all the time.
Drivers license
2 Credit/debit cards
AARP card
Professional registry card
American Heart Assoc. BLS card
Health Insurance card
Small piece of folded paper with important phone numbers.
$125 cash
3 cards for free McDonalds stuff. 1 free value meal and 2 cups of coffee.
I could probably take out the AARP card. I haven't found a discount with that yet.
I don't carry my wallet very much. I usually just leave it in my truck, and if I go shopping I put it in my pocket, and after that put it back in the truck.
When I vacation/travel I carry a thin wallet with 1 debit card and cash. I carry it in my front pocket.
I have all the usual cards, insurance, credit cards, store rewards, ATM cards, license, car registration. Too many. Some receipts. I clean out the wallet occasionally to pare back but over time stuff creeps back in. I have a big wallet. Besides the cards and cash I carry:
An extra key to my car and condo. This has saved me when I locked my keys in the car or forgot to take my key when I left home.
A small list of phone numbers for relatives, work and emergency numbers. Good for if something happens to me and someone needs to contact my family or work.
A list of all my prescription medicines and doses.
A matrix list of my rewards credit cards with a summary of the rewards with the spending categories in specific months that get me the 5% cash back.
Some of my business cards.
Extra Metro fare card.
Posted by:Kathy F |September 21, 2011 at 11:00 PMToo much stuff in my wallet.
Only 1 credit card.
Debit Card
Health Club ID
2 Grocery store rewards cards
Health/Dental/Prescription Insurance Card
Vision Insurance Card
Library Card
A half dozen of my own business cards to hand out
Drivers License
Concealed Carry permit
Motorcycle registration and insurance cards
I use a view slimmy.
Posted by:td |September 22, 2011 at 04:48 PM Verify your Comment Previewing your CommentPosted by: |This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
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