If your wallet is transitioning from a cash holder to a 5-pound free-weight, then it’s probably time you made some headway in clearing it out.
We know it’s a common issue that most people face, so here’s a quick guide on 5 things you probably carry around with you, that you really shouldn’t be.
We’ve all been guilty of shoving a few stacks of receipts in our wallet after spending a few stacks over time. Don’t let it get out of hand – in fact, don’t keep any in your wallet at all. Unless you’re going out to return things, there’s no need for reaves of paper to sit in your old leather behemoth for months at a time. Throw them away or use them as cigarette papers (there’s a nice idea); just get them out of your wallet.
Hopefully you just read that and thought, “who the hell carries their social security card in their wallet…” You’d be surprised. Most of the time it ends up being a one-time carry, stuck in the wallet to bring to the DMV or a job interview, and then forgotten about. It’ll stay in that wallet for a long, long time.
Not only is your wallet a terrible place to put your SS because of the space it takes up and the wear that’ll happen to the card – but if your wallet gets stolen or lost, a thief will have everything he needs to steal your identity.
Alright, look, if you get a visa gift card, bring it wherever you want – also, give your gifter a pat on the back, because are the best. But for the rest of us who get gift cards to restaurants and weird, unheard of fashion retailers, don’t lug around those piles of plastic with you every day. For one, you don’t need them, why carry them? Two, they take up so much space. You’d be surprised. Even in your bulky bifold, you can reduce the size tremendously by removing your gift cards.
Some people (yes, it’s a shame), carry around checks written to them by other people in their wallets. Others even carry around blank checks in their wallets, in case they need to write one in a hurry. For one, they take up space. Secondly, though – and probably more importantly – you risk losing a lot of money, or someone else’s money, by carrying checks around in your wallet. Routing number, account number, address on your ID – boom.
We understand carrying a photo of your loved one in case you somehow manage to survive an airplane crash and get stranded on an island, but let’s keep it down to one, at the most. There’s just no need to carry wallet photos! They fade over time, and you won’t even be able to recognize them anyway. Besides, you can digitalize it, upload it to a cloud, and never ever have to worry about losing it in your lifespan.
Wallets used to be for one thing, and one thing only: carrying around money. Why is it any different, now?
The best way to keep any of these bulky, unnecessary, and potentially harmful things from hiding in your wallet is to treat yourself to a wallet that demands minimalist qualities without being confining… AKA, the Ridge. Check out our shopping page – you’ll thank us afterwards.
