If you love sitcoms, you may be familiar with a show that aired during the 1990’s called Seinfeld. If so, surely you remember an episode that mocks the size and fatness of George Costanza’s wallet. He would put everything in his wallet including money, receipts, numbers, coupons and even candy. I was sitting in my office the other day and became painfully aware that my wallet had become just a little too thick. It was time to do one of those periodic cleansing of the wallet to purge those things that I don’t need to be sitting on for 10 hours out of the day.
I would undoubtedly find things in my wallet that I no longer needed, but as I emptied my wallet, I promised myself I would rid my wallet of anything that was inconsistent with my financial goal of eliminating credit card debt. Specifically, any credit cards I found should be removed so that I’m not tempted to spend money I don’t have.
With the contents of the wallet scattered on my desk, I found all the essential things that belong in my wallet such as my car and medical insurance cards, driver’s license, and debit card. I also found several rewards cards to various businesses such as a take and bake pizza place, and an ice cream place.
Then I ran across a couple of things of questionable character that made me wince:
American Express : This account is not enrolled in our Debt Management Program as American Express doesn’t work with such programs. Have I used this card? Yup. Should I be? Nope. Out of the wallet it comes.
Citibank: This card had a zero balance when we started our program. In fact, we didn’t even realize this account was still open when we enrolled. When we realized it was still open, we should have closed it – but we didn’t. Instead, we kept it as our “emergency” credit card. It’s amazing what passes as an “emergency” when you’re a credit card junkie. To the banished pile it goes.
Victoria’s Secret: What is this doing in my wallet? *Smirk* Ok, Ok….I’ll take this one out, too.
After getting rid of these three cards, along with a small pile of other unnecessary or outdated documents, my wallet is thinner, and much more in line with my financial goals.
So, friends, as the commercial says, “What’s in your wallet?”
Great post! Wallet heft – something that creeps up on us when we’re not looking. (Literally!)
I have the opposite problem, strangely enough. We travel more than a little, and when we do, I empty my wallet from everything I don’t want stolen and do not absolutely need for that trip. And when I get back I don’t always put everything back in. So I got stranded without my AAA card, went to the doctor without the medical insurance card, even got caught once at Costco without my membership card.
One would think it’s easy to remember to put the cards back in. One would be wrong. 🙂
All’s to say: travel (foreign travel in particular) is a great cure for what’s in your wallet… in more ways than one! 🙂
I had the same problem when we went on vacation last month. I took everything out of my wallet that I didn’t need for the trip, and then forgot to put things back in.
I’m traveling out of the country later this month, and expect to be doing the same thing…….maybe you can help remind me to place everything back in the wallet when I get back! 🙂
I had to take all of my credit cards out. I keep them near my desk, which is still bad for online shopping. I’m thinking about freezing them so I don’t use them at all.
I did more than just remove them from my wallet, I cut them up. That should go a long way towards deterring me from using them, right?
I have a password protected spreadsheet with my credit card info for online shopping – that way when I’m in bed late at night I don’t have to get up to get my cc info.
Oh boy…..shopping from the comfort of your own bed. That’s overspending waiting to happen for me! LOL.
… but it will be comfortable! 😉
I try to keep my wallet/purse fairly clean. I hate the cluttered searching that I used to have to do so once a week I’ll clean it out. Reciepts get looked at, changed gets dumped into a container and I make sure that everything is in its place.
Thanks for sharing, bogofdebt……is there anything in your purse that tempts you to spend more than you should?
Of course not…oh wait, what’s that compartment? Oh that’s where my personal money is held along with the excess money that we haven’t used yet (normally used for milk, bread, etc). Yeah, that tempts me a lot.
I was going to say “At least it’s cash,” but then again, if you spend the money used for life essentials, that’s no good either!
It try to keep it clutter free–debit card, one credit card, and dental & health insurance cards. Nothing much.
Can you talk to my wife, Ornella? I once tried to find a pack of gum in her purse that I knew was in there…..and quite frankly was scared by some of the things I found in there. I gave up.
I just did a bit of purge my self. Tossed: Old dental insurance card, AAA card that expired in 2009. random business cards, etc. No credit cards to toss–they’re all cut up 🙂
Good for you Brent – you’re THE MAN!
I was just reminded of what I did many years ago; at that time I had many, many, many credit cards. When I cut them up, I actually cut them in half diagonally, punched a hole thru the top & attached them to a keyring. Not only did it serve as my keychain, it was also my reminder of what I had done (spending money using credit cards), it was also a great conversation piece. You’d be amazed at the shock & horror I would see on people’s faces when they saw cut up credit cards….it always made me chuckle. Most likely, those are the people who live on credit.
Fast forward to many years later & I got myself into hot water all over again with my credit. THIS time, I’ve realized that I don’t want to live my life in debt. So, I’m actively paying off my debt right now thru a debt management program.
To this day I still have the keychain (don’t use it anymore), however, it’s kept as a reminder that I DON’T EVER want to be in that situation again.
I LOVE the keychain idea….if I have enough credit cards left laying around I may do the same thing. But quite honestly I don’t know (and hope) that I do. Great idea…..good luck on your debt management program – who is your provider if you don’t mind me asking?
A friend recommended Care One and I’ve been in the program for a little over 2 1/2 years.
Yay! Nice to meet you, fellow CareOne family member!
My purse is pretty empty of clutter.I only carry my drivers license,my debit card,and my bank book. I only shop once a week and I always pay with a check.It makes it so much easier for me to only put what is needed in the cart.Writing a check is SLOW compared to just swiping a card.Faster isn’t always better.I’ve probably saved thousands of $ doing it this way.
As I always say, do what works for you – and if it’s working for you it’s the right answer! I can understand the logic….the longer you think about a purchase, the more likely you’ll realize when you’re about to make a mistake. Thanks for sharing, Dena!
Driver’s licence/insurance/ownership
government health card (yay Canada) & employer insurance card (for anything not covered by the first card)
debit card (dusty)
credit card (worn smooth charging virtually every cent we spend, and earning flights in the process woo hoo!)
Tim Horton’s card (Canadian coffee chain; automatically reloads $30 from my visa when the remaining balance drops below $5.) They don’t take Visa in the store, I’d feel dumb using the card for $1.60, I never need change, but best of all even my little once a week coffee habit earns me mileage on my visa and every little bit helps toward the next summer holiday.
$20 bill (with post it note reading May 27th, the day I tucked it in there for an emergency; ie when I need gas and the VISA is down. It’s a bit of a game to see how long the cash remains in my wallet). I never carry change – it would wind up in the vending machine at work. That’s my one weakness for stupid, unplanned spending.
There’s also a receipt in there for an item I may return. Otherwise, receipts are entered onto the spending plan spreadsheet and shredded immediately after we get home. In a normal week that means only groceries and gas for both vehicles. I only carry my debit card so I don’t lose it, or if I had to physically go into my bank for some reason and prove I was an account holder. I can’t actually remember the last time I used it to buy something.
I’d say my wallet reflects my financial goals. Spend only what’s planned in advance and could have been paid in cash, do it with the visa for the mileage, carry $20 cash for a “no visa available” emergency, and keep the receipts tracked and up to date so we always know exactly where we stand at all times. Other than my wallet, the rest of my purse is similarly stripped down – just keys, sunglasses and phone. No scary surprises if my husband needs to go in there to get something!
That’s fantastic, JMK! I’m so glad that there’s no scary surprises if your husband needs to go in……oh and it’s equally fantastic that you seem to have a grip on what’s in your purse, and the contents surely reflect financial responsibility. 🙂
What a great reminder to go back to basics. I guess it’s sort of like the saying “if you hang out at the barbershop long enough you will end up getting a haircut. In this case… If you carry your cards long enough you will use them.
Thanks! Good share.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, Elizabeth…..I’m not hanging out at the barbershop anymore! I’m glad that you liked the post!
I used to get bloated wallets. One thing I did to prevent that is to get a minimalist wallet that could only hold a few key cards and pieces of information (I keep my cash separate in my pocket). I’ve been able to keep my wallet lean for a while now. Only those cards I know I need are in there.
It’s like having lots of closet space in your home – the more space you have to more stuff you find to fill it up.
Yes, the old “Grow to the size of your tank” phenomenon. I like your idea, and my wallet is about worn out – when I get a new one I may look for a “minimalist” wallet myself – thanks for the idea, Glen!
I am glad to say that my wallet does not have much clutter. It only has my driver’s license, car insurance card, and check. I use cash when I go to the grocery and I only shop once a week. I do not bring my credit card unless I know we are going to make a large purchase and we will be using the card for it.
Good practices…..exactly what I’m going for – with the exception of the credit card. None for me! 🙂
I loathe purses. My mom made me carry a purse and some carry on luggage back in 1978 for a trip to California. The stuff weighed more than me and I am pretty sure paratroopers jumped into Normandy with less stuff. I vowed then that I would never carry a purse and I use a men’s wallet instead.
Visa (my only card, collect points for free gas, never carry a balance)
Debit card
Library card (used the most!!!)
drivers lic
Ontario Health card
Organ donor card
2 stamps
1 blank cheque to write the 1 cheque I write a year.
immunization record
bus tickets (enough for 1 round trip in case of vehicle breakdown)
gas points card
gift card for haircut
I also have important ph #s written down on a piece of cardboard. (I rarely carry my phone with me .I work on the phone, I hate phones!)
Spare car key
Strangely there is seldom cash in this wallet. I don’t carry money with me unless I have a specific errand. One of my rules in life is “don’t bring money to work.”
It sounds like quite a lot of stuff, slackerjo…but on the other hand, it all sounds very worthwhile to have – and certainly reflects a financially responsible lifestyle – thanks for sharing! I don’t like carrying cash either…if I have cash, I spend cash – boo!