Ever try to pay a clerk with an old receipt instead of cash? Or swipe your debit card only to find it’s an expired credit card? If so, you could benefit from a clean wallet or purse.

A post from Wise Bread offers some suggestions about cleaning out your wallet or purse and how doing so can benefit your overall financial health—and I couldn’t agree more. Take a look at some of the points from the post, along with some techniques I’ve found to be helpful.

Take It All Out

The best way to get started is to take everything out of your purse or wallet and lay it on a clear surface. That way you know what you’re working with. You may come across…

• Old gift cards: They could have money on them! Happy early birthday to you! Rather than saving these for a rainy day, consider using them before their value starts to decrease—this could be a concern if they’ve been in your wallet for a while.
• Old receipts: If you’re a receipt hoarder, you may have an overly thick wallet. But these could be lifesavers when it comes time to sort out your taxes and you have deductible expenses from work or travel. So sort them into save or recycle piles and store the important ones with your other financial papers.
• Coins: Metal money can seriously weigh a person down. I’m one of those keep your coins in a jar until it’s full and roll them into paper money kind of people, but if you know you’ll never get around to rolling your own money, donate it to some worthy kids or toss it into a change-counting machine for quick cash (but be careful, because many of these change-to-paper companies take a cut of the proceeds).
• Dirty stuff: No matter how many times I vowed to keep my purse clean, I’d always end up with sticky, grubby stuff—largely, I think, from melted gum and lip balm coating my possessions and attracting dirt. And then I learned about compartmentalizing. Now I have a wallet, a cell phone case, and a zip-case for cosmetics. My bag is cleaner and I save serious time digging around for things.
• Old debit or credit cards: Get rid of these. Cut them up and dispose of them. By old, of course, I mean for accounts you no longer use or cards that have been replaced. So lighten your load and prevent confusion and potential identity theft by tossing these babies from your bag.

I don’t know of any studies that show a neat wallet leads to better financial health, but I know that I’m much calmer and more levelheaded about financial matters when I’m working with a clean slate (or purse).

If you need to wipe your financial slate clean, consider filling bankruptcy, which was designed to give you a fresh financial start.

 Email This Post