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United Texas - Mobile
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United Texas - Mobile
Finance
Free - On the App Store

Your purse or wallet can easily become cluttered with loyalty cards, coupons, cash, checks, store credit cards, and a host of identification cards. Not only is an overstuffed wallet a hassle to carry, but it may also make identity theft easier.

Give your purse or wallet a good once over. Look for things you don’t regularly need, and take them out!

Some things should never be in your purse or wallet. If you see these items as you’re trimming down your daily carry, take them out immediately.

1.) Your Social Security card

It’s easy enough to stuff the card into your wallet when you need it for identification and then forget about it.

That could be a big mistake because thieves can use your original Social Security card to apply for all kinds of unsecured debt in your name. Canceling your Social Security number and getting a new one is a complicated, time-consuming process, and you may be liable for fraud as you do so.

Keep yourself safe, and get the card out of your wallet! Therefore, put it in a secure location in your home, like a safety lockbox.

2.) Receipts

This is by far the easiest way to accumulate paper in your wallet. You never know which might be needed later and you stick them all into your wallet. Before you know it, you’ve got a novel-sized stack of transactions.

This could be serious trouble if someone steals your purse or wallet, or you lose it. Thieves can use the last four digits of your credit card number on a receipt to build a profile of your purchases and can fish for more information with a merchant who has the card on file, like a cable company or an online retailer.

Think about going paperless. Turn your phone into a digital file box. Encrypt information to keep it out of the hands of malicious people, but still accessible to you if you need to check a purchase.

3.) Tons of credit cards

Every store offers its own card and incentives and those cards can really add up. Tack on an extra couple of cards for gas purchases, everyday expenses, and work-related stuff, and you could easily end up with a wallet or purse full of plastic.

If someone steals your wallet or purse, then you must cancel each one of those cards individually. Forgetting even one can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Thin your collection down to the one or two you use regularly. Look for those that can be widely used, provide the lowest fees and best acceptance rates. Put the rest of them into a safe place at home, using them only when you need them.

Once you’re down to your top cards, make a list of their numbers and the steps you’d need to take to cancel them if necessary.

Your Turn: What’s in your purse or wallet? What items make your “essential carry” list, and what can you safely leave behind?

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Sources:

https://blog.mint.com/how-to/whats-in-your-wallet-and-how-can-you-clean-it-out-0214/

https://www.gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/things-never-keep-wallet/

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