Capital One has the slogan “What’s in your wallet.” All of you have probably heard it at least once, but have you ever gone past the phrase and actually looked at the items in yours? Wallets exist to hold your monetary items and identification, but rarely are those the only things that you would find if looking at someone’s wallet. At one point I had tons of photos in my wallet, some senior pictures of people I hadn’t talked to since I was a junior in high school. One of them was of a friend I still talked to and saw sporadically. When visiting her once I remembered I carried that picture in my wallet, so I told her she was always with me and started thumbing through the pictures. What I had forgotten was that I took her picture out the week before after carrying it for more than five years. She wasn’t in the least bit impressed, I was embarrassed, and learned a valuable lesson. Double check things before you open your mouth.
Older wallets I had, like that one, were big and bulky. Pictures, receipts, cash, and even ticket stubs were making it into this big lump in my front pocket so I decided to downgrade. I began carrying a card holder to try and alleviate some of the clutter that always finds its way into the recesses of my wallet. When I was given a new one as a present I streamlined the contents even more. Shockingly everything in my wallet is named on my list:
- Debit Card – An essential since rarely, if ever, do I carry cash. I don’t write checks (I still have the same set from a bank that merged 3 years ago) so my debit card is how I make 95% of my purchases. Without it I would be lost.
- Social Security Card – Usually I just keep it in a safe at home, but I needed it to prove my identity a few months back. Never got around to putting it back in the safe. That may be something I do tonight.
- Business Cards – Gathering business cards is a good way to network with people, only I am usually terrible about getting back with people once I get their contact information because I never keep up with the cards. The five in my are there for no particular reason. Two are personal friends and the other three are people I met a my favorite bar. There are reasons why the other bar patrons gave me their cards, but follow through isn’t one of my strongest qualities. Haven’t quite gotten around to getting back to any of them quite yet. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.
- Bottle Opener – At certain bars cigarette companies have reps who go around and get people to sign up for their mailing list. Free lighters or free cigarettes are provided for just letting them scan your license and signing a release form. Every opportunity I get, I sign up for these promotions and it’s not because I smoke. Those lighters they give away are nice Zippos that would run you at least ten bucks if you were to go out and buy one. Yes I get tons of mail from the companies, but it’s worth it because every so often they send you a really nifty gift. One of the three lighters I got from the Marlboro brand was one, but the best gift was what they sent one birthday. It’s a stainless steel credit card sized bottle opener. It’s perfect for me because I hate carrying extraneous things on my keys, but I always need a bottle opener. What can I say, I tend to drink beer now and again. I have used it thousands of times and suggest getting one to any nice beer drinkers.
- Driver Licenses – I didn’t want to have two driver licenses. My Alabama one was just fine with me and it allowed me to operate a vehicle. The state of California didn’t agree with my assessment of the situation. In order to get my job I had to go through the process of acquiring a license there. This in itself wouldn’t have been a problem if they had just let me keep my other one too. Instead the lady punched a hole in it before returning it. So as soon as I stepped foot in the great state of Alabama again I got another one. Now I carry both of them in my wallet and I admit I feel a bit like a traveler (modern gypsy for those not in the know).
That’s it. Those are the full contents of my wallet. What’s in your wallet? Not your purse or super-big oversized bag. List 5 items in your wallet.
Tags: Bottle Opener, Business Card, Debit Card, Driver License, Lighter, Wallet
July 14, 2008 at 8:22 am
1. Coins
2. Insurance Card
3. Cash
4. Credit Card
5. Qdoba Card
July 14, 2008 at 8:23 am
1. Driver’s License
2. Callaway Gardens Pass
3. Library Card
4. Chinese Fortune: A Romantic Evening Awaits You Tonight
5. AAA Card
July 14, 2008 at 9:46 am
1.) License… I got my handy dandy license, which needs an address update, but honestly, I don’t feel like going through that right now. LOL
2.) Debit Card… Like you Roach, I rarely carry cash. My debit card IS my money. I write maybe two checks a month, one for rent the other may be a random item. But I take my debit card everywhere.
3.) Library card… I don’t go to the library often for myself. Usually it’s for my girlfriend. But sometimes she’ll forget her card, so we’ll check out a book on my card instead. That’s it’s main purpose for being there.
4.) Credit Card… I don’t use it often, but for emergency purposes, I do have a credit card. It’s there if I get down to my last couple drops of gas or if I lose my debit card (haven’t done that yet).
5.) Insurance card… If I gotta go to the hospital or the doc, I just keep the card nearby. Also when I go to Wachovia or Compass to cash checks, they take it as a second form of ID.
July 14, 2008 at 11:18 am
1. Employee ID card. Our employee handbook states that we are all supposed to wear our ID cards whenever we’re in the buidling, but no one does because it’s not cool. It means you are either a new person or a visitor. So, now I only need it to get in the building before or after hours.
2. Gift card to NY&Co. This was a Christmas present from my dad which I’m planning to use in the next two weeks to purchase some new clothes for my class reunion.
3. Gas receipt. July 7, $62.12 for 16.015 gallons @ $3.879 each. I don’t know which gas station because it only says “Welcome. PNTY368408.” I also don’t know which car I filled at the time because my husband and I switch cars depending on who has the kids.
4. Safety pin. I keep one in the change pocket just in case. You never know when you might lose a button on your shirt or some other serious emergency.
5. One picture. There are several other pictures and less frequently used cards in a zipper pocket in my purse, but the only picture I keep in my actual wallet is my daughter’s kindergarten picture. It’s the only one small enough to fit. Wallet size pictures don’t fit in my wallet. Go figure.
July 14, 2008 at 12:25 pm
1. DUI rights laminated card (I got this from my public defender after my 2nd conviction)
2. An expired Magnum 12″ inch condom given to me at a sleazy strip club by a pock-marked pregnant hooker in the bathroom stall
3. Victoria’s Secret loyalty card (I was talked into signing up by an extremely hot check out girl)
4. A pistol permit rejection letter from my State (I had been meaning to go down and argue my case, but I knew it was pointless)
5. A Subway punch card with Jared’s ugly face on it (I got 4 more holes before I get a free 6″ meatball sub)
July 14, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Well, I don’t think I can beat the DUI Rights card or the rejection letter for a pistol permit. (Scary.) But I do have a few other things that you may never suspect:
1. Three – count it – three Alabama driver’s licenses, only two of which are still valid. The other is expired and I keep it in the case of, like recently, when I lost my license and continued using the expired one to slip by the not-so-careful ID checker at the bar or in the non-state-affiliated liquor store. I ended up with two valid ones after I paid to get a duplicate made of the one I lost, and then found the one I lost a week after getting the duplicate.
2. Two Jacksonville State University student IDs. Once again, I don’t how I keep acquiring multiple forms of the same ID, but I have two. One is the old version and the second in the newer one I got my senior year of college in 2004. Thank God I still look that age because I still can slip by with a student discount now and then.
3. Movie ticket stubs from the Saw II. I don’t know why and I don’t even remember who I went with to this movie, but for some reason they’ve stayed in my wallet for however long it’s been since that movie’s been in the theatre.
4. A Band-Aid with Lightning McQueen on it. What can I say? I have a two-year old son and sometimes boo-boos come out of nowhere.
5. A “For Your Pleasure” business card for Vickie Burrell, Bedroom Specialist. Now I’ve never heard of a “bedroom specialist,” but if there is such a title, I want to know you earn it. If anyone’s interested in seeking Miss Burrell’s services you can reach her at (256) 239-5457 and I hear she’s got some great deals on some ambigiously-named, battery-operated devices.
July 14, 2008 at 7:50 pm
1. 2 Alabama Drivers licenses. My current one and the paper copy they give you until you get your permanent one. I put the paper one aside until I could throw it away but never got around to it.
2. 3 different credit cards. Yes I have 3 credit cards but I only use 1 of them. The other 2 are American express and an old visa that just never made it out.
3. $53 in cash and a check for $150 that needs to be deposited.
4. a Pet Perks card from PetSmart that has saved me a good bit on stuff for our two dogs.
6. And this is the best one. The keycard from my Hilton Hotel room in Shreveport that I shared with my wife and two other girls when one of our friends got married a month ago. Now I mention my wife and the two girls because this was one of those times when I hated that life would never emulate porn (sad times.)
July 14, 2008 at 8:49 pm
1) Pictures of myself and my husband – our engagement pictures. I like to change things up, so I rotate them depending on what I want to see.
2) Coupons: No matter how much money I make, I can never (and don’t want to ever) turn down free $$$.
3) Checks: Not mine, ones that were written to me that I need to deposit. Horrible, I know.
4) Cards & 5) Cash – Both boring. It’s a small flat wallet – no room for extraneous nonsense.
July 14, 2008 at 11:28 pm
1. Driver’s License. Yeah. I drive a car.
2. Insurance Cards. These come in handy for midday doctors’ appointments or late night pullovers by State Troopers.
3. Store Cards. Movie Gallery, Office Max, Game Stop, and more!
4. Extra Car Key. Just in case I lock mine in my dinosaur egg of a car.
5. Gold Presidential Dollar. Just to show morons who like to complain about “In God We Trust” not being on it. It is, and I show them.
July 14, 2008 at 11:53 pm
1. Driver’s License – probably in the top 5 on most people’s list. Always a good reminder of how goofy I look even when I’m purposefully trying to take a cool picture.
2. Ticket stub from the 2006 Cotton Bowl – It’s the only bowl win for Alabama that I have ever been to and it was the most fun because the company I had and sitting in a restaurant afterwards watching Auburn lose. It was so fun to see the shattered faces of all the Texas Tech fans after the ugliest kick in modern football barely cleared the uprights. “Bang! Bang!”
3. Debit card – No cash just a debit card. I don’t know what I did before this.
4. Alabama vs Central Florida ticket stub from the 2000 season – As a constant reminder of what happens when you don’t prepare, become complacent, and take things for granted.
5. Bunch of receipts and a Checkbook with no deposit slips left – Thanks to online banking and bill pay I’ve pretty much been using the same box of checks for the past 4 years. You would think as much as banks push these on their customers they would increase the amount of deposit slips per book of checks so you don’t run out. I am to a point in my life that I use substantially more deposit slips than write checks.
July 15, 2008 at 12:22 am
1. Driver’s License
2. Visa check card – main purchasing power
3. Two credit cards – one I only use for online purchases and the other is my main credit card
4. Car Insurance Card
5. Frequent sandwich buyer card from Coffee Quarter – because some days you just NEED a Basil Tomazza on artisan bread
July 16, 2008 at 11:03 pm
1. Justin Timberlake concert ticket stub.
2. Old Disney World Pass – “the happiest celebration on earth”
3. My American Red Cross donor card – blood type A+
4. Dunkin Donuts gift card. What better gift than fried foods???
5. $81.42 (I never have cash, so this is huge.)
July 17, 2008 at 4:41 am
1. Debit Card
2. A member card for the Original Backpackers Pub Crawl in Dublin, Ireland
3. Two tickets from when I saw Wicked in London
4. My Checkbook
5. International Student ID Card, a completely useless card that SOMETIMES gets you discounts on museums and touristy stuff abroad.
And some Swedish money!
July 24, 2008 at 9:29 pm
1. Receipts
2. Several forms of identification
3. A couple of restaurant loyalty cards
4. Credit cards
5. $0.00, cash.