No one ever expects to have their wallets or handbags stolen or lost. However, it happens and can cause countless problems when your information gets into the wrong hands. The best way to limit your risk is by using wallet organization, packing only what you need to carry on your person and storing the rest.
Examine What is Important for Optimal Wallet Organization
Many of us carry cards that we don’t necessarily need to always take with us. You may have a few gift cards stored in the pocket of your wallet that you have no intention of using on that particular trip out. Remove them temporarily and replace when you intend to buy.
Another card that you may want to also leave behind is your banking card, if you don’t plan to use it to withdraw money when you’re taking a credit card.
Carry the essentials such as your driver’s license, proof of insurance, owners’ card, health insurance, medical cards (related to a health condition, blood type or organ donation) and credit card (s).
At the same time, clean out old receipts that you may have stuffed inside. What I like to do is organize the receipts into separate monthly envelopes according to how I paid. Later when the statements arrive from the credit card company, I just pick up the appropriate envelope and check out each purchase to see if it is correct. Examining and comparing receipts this way helps me catch any mistakes and wrongful billing.
What else that helps is organizing the money that you carry by denomination. Taking a few minutes to sort bills into their rightful place according to value can save time later. After all, you could have broken bigger bills for incidentals like lottery tickets, bus tickets, stops at the vending machines that left you with a lot of dollars. You might want to take some dollars out and replace with bigger bills.
It also is a good idea to clean out an excess of loose coins that you may be carrying. Deposit them in a jar or container at home until you can count them to take to the bank. They are heavy to tote.
Curb Back on How Many Credit Cards That You Carry
You may have a stack of credit cards, but how many do you really use? The more cards that you possess, the more complicated your life will become once you need to report and close all the accounts that might have been compromised from a stolen or lost card.
Instead, you might want to pack only one or two credit cards in your wallet.
The rest of your credit cards should be stored in a safe place.
Make Copies of Important Wallet Information As Backup
In case of an emergency, it is a good idea to take some advance precautions by documenting your information.
Start with your credit cards and write down all your numbers, expiration dates and any 800 numbers that you see.
Next, write down the details from your driver’s license, owners’ card, insurance card, and health insurance.
Hopefully, your wallet will safely remain in your possession. Nonetheless, it never hurts to be prepared just in case the worst happens with wallet organization.
All very good advice. I know men in particular have many more than needed especially my husband! One thing to watch for in the case of men because the sit on them i cards can literally get worn down ( the raised numbers) and you cant use them. Hubby had a Home Depot gift card in his wallet for a year or more, and it wore down so badly it was illegible. It was a pain to figure it out!
Author
Wow, I didn’t know that those raised numbers could get so worn down. Thanks for passing this tip along for everyone.
It never occurred to me to write down the information from my driver’s license et al. Great idea!
Since it is that time of the year and every where is information on getting organized. I though I would check this one out and you have a lot of good information here. A few things I all ready do but there are a couple that I need to do. BUT the most important one is — Make Copies of Important Wallet Information As Backup THIS I MUST DO!!