What's In Your Wallet?

I read this article about what you should carry in your wallet. I carry a Tumi wallet that's about the size of a card wallet, it's like the one pictured, but it doesn't have the window, it's got three card slots in each side. It fits in my front pocket without me even knowing it's there, which is great, because my old bifold or trifold wallet felt like I was sitting on a brick. I carry my bills with a money clip, and I don't carry any coins. Any change I get I throw into a big jar and when it fills up, I take it to the bank to deposit. They won't count it right away, they ask you to make an estimate of the amount, and then they'll run it though their automatic counter downtown and put the exact amount on the deposit. The last time I dropped off change the deposit was over $500. Sweet! it's just like free money! I think using those change-counting machines at the grocery store are a rip-off, they're inaccurate, and they charge a very high fee (9%), even though you can hack them. Here's a comment from David on Boing Boing:

Back in 2004, the Wall Street Journal tested Coinstar and other similar machines, and found them all to be inaccurate, especially the "100% free" Commerce Bank machine:

"For consistency, we began with equal piles of $87.26 worth of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters that we had gotten from a local bank in coin envelopes. Talk about a tough economy. The machines at both Commerce Bank and Coinstar gave us less back than we put in -- Commerce Bank missed by a whopping $7.02, while Coinstar was off by 57 cents."

The article is on-line but it's subscriber-only. The link, for those with access, is here.

Here's what's in my wallet right now:

Driver's license
Credit card (corporate)
Medical insurance card
ATM card
Credit cards (4)
Proof of automotive liability insurance
Proof of automotive liability insurance (corporate)
Business card of my primary care physician
Business card of my insurance agent
Business card of my attorney
A blank check
Original copy of "the phrase"
My business cards (2)
Assorted receipts (I clean these out nightly, but I've been traveling this week, so I don't have a place to put them)

If I had a larger wallet, I'd include some of my "frequent diner" cards, where they stamp or punch your card, and after so many you get something free, but Subway was the only one that I really used regularly, and they stopped that program because of fraud. I might carry my library card or Barnes and Noble discount card, but I buy most of my books at Amazon nowdays. I don't rent at Blockbuster anymore, either, I subscribe to all the movie channels on DirecTV, and occasionally pay-per-view if I want to see something right away.

After reading the article, I am going to leave two of my four credit cards at home. I really only use one regularly, but I've had it cut off twice for security reasons (once because I was traveling, the other time because I purchased a lot of consumer electronics) so I need to carry a backup. I'm going to continue to carry my ATM card since you need it even to make a deposit at an ATM. I'm going to continue to carry a blank check, it's been a lifesaver many times before.

I put together a large wallet that contains all that stuff they send you to carry in your wallet, like my frequent flyer cards, rental car and hotel program cards, various membership cards, gift cards, etc. and I carry it in my briefcase. I also have a folder for coupons that I carry in my briefcase as well. I've never regretted slimming down my wallet, and my friends are all sick of me telling them how great a front-pocket wallet is.