My Case For Thin Wallets

My Case For Thin Wallets

I am torn. I like things to be streamlined, efficient, and simple. But as a holdover from my youth, I also like to be over-prepared. Let me give you an example. When I was younger, I loved wearing cargo pants to school. The more pockets the better because it allowed me to carry things I might need. The reality is I rarely reached for anything outside my front two, and right rear pockets; same as today. These days I have trimmed down and it all started with my wallet…

Actually, it all started with a trip to Hawaii almost 10 years ago. While a group of us were waiting at the Pearl Harbor museum, we decided to “optimize” a friend’s wallet. She was carrying a simple boy’s wallet, the kind that closed with a Velcro flap. The thing must have been 1.5 inches thick. We ended up tossing out business cards, receipts, stickers etc. I often think about to this incident whenever I think I need a bigger wallet.

I rotate a few different wallets nowadays but the one you’ll find in my pockets most often is a simple affair. The TUMI wallet (pictured above) has two slots in front for cards, one main compartment in the center and a money clip behind. It’s durable, wears slowly, does not mind getting wet, and is not slippery.  There are no flaps to open and close and it’s a single piece, not a bi-fold. I carry four cards with me – ATM, credit, driver’s license, and RFID security card which goes into the main compartment with the DL. Cash gets folded in half once and goes behind the money clip.

I also am a fan of the single pouch approach that MAKR made famous but having everything snug against each other becomes slightly frustrating when you need to pull out a card or cash at the register. I do carry a billfold occasionally but even then I try to keep it really simple and light. You might be wondering what I do with all the club cards. Simple – most places accept phone numbers in lieu of the cards and for all the ones that don’t, I store the information in an app on my Android phone.

How do you carry your cash and credit cards? Are you a Costanza, or do you keep it lean and simple?

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Ed’s note: You might have noticed a new name as the author of this post. It’s David Vo, a long time carry fan and contributor to Josh Spear and his personal blog. We figure that hearing about a person’s pocket contents is about the most personal introduction one can get.