It all started when I "lost" my wallet with everything I thought I needed inside. I say lost, but I think it was stolen. Insurance cards, IDs, Credit cards, frequent buyers cards, misc notes, you name it. I had the fat George Costanza wallet from Seinfield and my life was inside. Maybe not as bad, but you get the point. Come to find out this happens a lot.
Here is an article by WiseBread that has 10 Things to do Immeditely after losing your wallet and another by LifeLock that gives you 11 Steps to Take If You Lose Your Wallet
So I was tasked to cancel and replace everything. This was not only a huge task it was stressful, just to know all my personal info may be in someone's hands. I encourage everyone to really think about what they carry and are you willing to lose it? If you REALLY have to carry it can you remember everything inside?
TIP: If not do yourself a favor and lay it all out and take pics of the front and back. (more to come on this later)
That was my biggest issue. For months I was remembering things that were inside and I just had to brush it off and hope it didn't come back to haunt me with credit/Identity.
I was dead set on only carrying what I used daily. This way I knew exactly what I had so I could easily cancel and replace in the event I lost it again. Christmas I visited a relative and I was gifted a silicone card holder you can stick to the back of your phone. I loved the idea and turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I don't like bulky cases, as an industrial designer, and appreciate the experience of the iPhone- amazing product design. I was able to add function without a case! I was hooked on the simplicity of eliminating one of my EDC (everyday carry) items. Tricky part was the systems check on the way out the door I had to adjust to only having keys and Phone, sans the wallet. After about 2 weeks that went away and I realized I really didn't need to carry everything all the time.
TIP: I still have a larger wallet that has all the junk I don't need daily and cards I don't use (which will make for great back-ups if I do lose my daily ones), but that stays at home in a safe place.
This is where the design and development of my AIRstik wallet really began. I wanted the silicone wallet but stronger and removable. The silicone didn't last long and removing the residue was a nightmare.
TIP: I started using the KeyRing app to have all my frequent buyer cards. For anything I cant enter into KeyRing I just take pics of and keep in my favorite folder for easy access.
I do a lot of shows and I hear people comment that it's not for them because if they lose their phone they lose their wallet also. I like to point out a few things. One its easier to keep track of two things if they are together, and two it shouldn't be your wallet, think of it as an extension of your wallet. Days of carrying a think leather plastic filled clam in our back pocket are gone.
This brings me to the benefits that resulted from not carrying a fat wallet in my back pocket. First the random back pains went away.
Sitting on your wallet "creates an asymmetry or imbalance that distorts your pelvis and hips," chiropractor Dr. Arnie Angrist told the Huffington Post
"Even driving for 30 minutes while sitting on your wallet can cause you back pain or sciatic pain," chiropractor Dr. Mathew Ullom wrote in a blog post.
"To minimize the stress on your body, McGill recommends a small wallet that holds only the essentials." I love this advice in Men's Health online and ThoughtCo. articles.
Back pocket wallets are perfect targets for pick pockets. You're literally asking for it if you take a fat back-pocket wallet on a crowded subway.
That's all I can think of now, but please comment or email with any questions. I will update if I find any other articles. Check out my wallets here if you think you or someone in your life might benefit from it.
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