What’s in My Wallet

I thought it might be kind of cool, as a personal finance blogger, to answer the annoyingly effective (or effectively annoying?) ad slogan question, “what’s in your wallet?”. And no, you won’t find a Capital One card.




To be fully transparent, I did do a bit of tidying up to get it in this state – removing an old frequent flyer card, some receipts, and a few bank statements in the process. It wasn’t quite George Costanza-bursting-at-the-seams level, but still, nothing to write home about.

As you will see, there is a lot of plastic, which makes this thing unbearably thick – to the point where I usually only put it in my pocket if I’m going into a store to make a purchase or a restaurant.

So let’s take a walk through.

my wallet

A “Costanza wallet”. Not my actual wallet – but Seinfeld fans should appreciate the reference.

Wallet: I’ll start with the wallet itself. Genuine leather trifold. I could not tell you what off-name brand it is, and honestly, I kind of like that I don’t know. I’ve had this wallet for at least 13 years now, I would imagine. It’s still going strong, but if it ever falls apart on me, I’d probably move to something much smaller. A bi-fold at max.

Cash: I was randomly carrying $14 American cash on me at the time of the photo. With my reliance on cards for payments, I usually don’t carry much more than $30 cash at any time. I feel safer this way too. If I’m pick-pocketed, I may have a bit of a headache calling to cancel credit cards, but at least I’m not out the cash.




Debit Cards: I have two debit cards from TCF Bank. I have checking accounts with them as they have free checking and are literally in my employer’s building – making it easy to cash checks or withdraw from their ATM, if I need cash.

Why two debit cards from the same bank? My wife and I each have separate bank accounts and shared a joint account. I have one card for each.

Credit Cards: I usually have a random assortment of 5-10 in my wallet at the moment, you can find out more about these on my list of money saving products:

Travel credit cards: travel rewards credit cards can provide outstanding value for their massive sign-up bonuses and hefty co-branded rewards, particularly if you travel a lot for business or pleasure. A few of my favorites include:




Cash back rewards cards: these cards provide excellent all-around cash back rewards on common every day purchases:

  • GroceryBlue Cash Preferred AmEx, Blue Cash Everyday AmEx, Citi Double Cash
  • GasBlue Cash Preferred AmEx, Blue Cash Everyday AmEx
  • General/Other: Citi Double Cash, Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards, Chase Freedom

Business rewards cards: note that as long as you have any 1099 or other self-employment income (including EBay sales), you are eligible to apply for business credit cards.

Health-Related: at the bottom, you’ll see three health related cards:

  • Delta Dental: this card is for my dental insurance through my employer.
  • Anthem Blue Cross: this is my HDHP health insurance card.
  • HSA debit card: this debits directly from my HSA when I charge health related expenses like a doctor’s visit or a prescription.

Other Random: on the left side, you’ll find:

  • A rewards punch card for homebrew kits. Buy 10, get one free. ;-)
  • An AMC Theater gift card. I received this over a year ago and haven’t been to the theater since as there is no AMC within 25 miles of my house. Should probably leave this one at home.
  • A Mug Club membership at a favorite local brewery. I get a discount on all beer! (has paid itself off already)

State of Michigan Driver’s License: last, but not least, for the 1 to 2 times per month I actually drive or get carded when buying alcohol.

That covers it

Your turn! What’s in your wallet?

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