If you’re still carrying around one of those George Costanza-esque bulging wallets with dozens of scraps of paper, photographs, receipts, tear-off strips for free guitar lessons and the like, you really ought to simplify things and declutter your wallet! While you’re at it, you might want to consider switching to a minimalist wallet; there are a few on the market, but the most remarkable one I’ve come across is the focus of this post, the Storus Smart Money Clip Lite.
Before we take a look at the Storus, a few words about decluttering your wallet:
There are 2 types of items which should be in your wallet:
- Items which you actually use, week in and week out
- Items which you don’t use that often, but which you absolutely must have available, should you need them
Examples of the first type: credit cards, debit cards, and your driver’s license …and oh yeah, cash
Examples of the second category: health insurance ID card, dental insurance card, Rx card… and I’m not sure there’s anything else. If you utilize a medical “flex spending” account, you probably should carry that card as well
Perhaps some of you will disagree and your mileage may vary, but for myself, the list is very short. The entire contents of my wallet at present are:
- 2 personal credit cards and 1 debit card
- my company AmEx card
- driver’s license
- 2 (very thin, by the way) insurance cards: medical, dental
- flex spending card
Note that I didn’t mention cash. If I have some larger bills on hand, I’ll put them in my wallet, but normally I just carry cash in my front pocket. If I’m traveling and have an unusually large amount of cash on hand, I’ll carry most of it in a money belt.
What to carry your now-streamlined list of items in? The simplest, neatest wallet I’ve seen yet is the Storus Money Clip Lite. Made out of a flexible yet tough plastic, it’s a money clip on one side and a credit card holder on the other. If you’re a traveler, your driver’s license is easy to display to TSA agents, and even if an agent wants the license removed, you can simply slide it out with your thumb. And unlike conventional metal money clips, it won’t trip a metal detector, so it can stay safely tucked away in your pocket, nor will it damage your slacks. Here’s a pic:
The Smart Money Clip Lite sells for about $13; you can visit the manufacturer’s site here. If you have discovered solutions to breaking free of the Constanza Syndrome or have other thoughts on this post, please comment!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!- You may also enjoy these related posts:
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September 19th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I love Big Skinny wallets. http://www.bigskinny.net/
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September 19th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
That looks pretty neat. I’m going to have to check it out. Price is right, too.
For the past two years I have been using ultra-thin wallets made of siliconized nylon – the material is about as thick as a sheet to typing paper, not to be confused with the thick “hippy/surfer” wallets made of thick Cordura nylon. You can find them here:
http://www.simblissity.net
You’ll have to scroll down to ignore the camping stuff….
BTW, I DO hate money clips with metal spring clips in them. Now that the security sensors are so sensitive, the metal clip versions are pretty useless….
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September 19th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Chris, thanks for the link to the bigskinny website. They say their wallets have anti-slip compound on them – is this on the outside of the wallet, so it is less likely to slip out of my pocket?
If so, that is a big plus. I can remember putting silicone bathtub caulk on some wallets, for travel, to reduce the risk of them slipping out of my pocket, but that was a pretty ugly solution.
This is what the website says, I am not sure if they are talking about the wallet inside, outside, or both:
“Our Big Skinny wallets are specially coated with a rubbery backing that allows you to stylishly sport around without losing your goods to gravity even though we designed them with extra-wide pockets!”
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September 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Michael,
I get the sense from their copy that the anti-slip is on the inside of the pockets to prevent credit cards from slipping out. I’ve ordered one just to check it out – Chris, thanks for the link!
Kevin
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September 20th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I never noticed the anti-slip compound – inside or out. I’ve never had a problem with stuff slipping out. I just bought the Super Skinny after using their classic model daily for 3 or 4 years. It was just beginning to show some wear at the edges of the fold.
The Super Skinny is longer and wider – 3 7/8 by 5 1/8 – but so far it has easily fit in every pocket I’ve tried. And it really is thinner than their classic model! A very comfortable wallet.
These are really nice products. I have no interest whatsoever in the company.
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October 22nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
In July 2008, I purchased a Storus “Smart Money Clip Lite” from the company via the Internet, after reading about the product in an in-flight magazine.
Within a few months, an internal friction device on the money clip broke while I was loading the wallet, thus rendering it unable to properly retain its contents unless “fully loaded” with multiple credit cards. I was annoyed at this development, but continued to use the money clip out of sheer laziness, even though it worked poorly. (Without the friction device, the contents of the money clip easily spill out–and at least once, the money clip dropped a credit card without me immediately realizing it; somebody behind me in line at a register pointed it out to me.)
Today, I received an email from Storus advertising its products, and it occured to me to try and contact the company for a replacement. To my disappointment, I was told that the Storus Money Clip Lite has a 30-day warranty, and that because more than 30 days had passed, the company would not replace the broken money clip. When I expressed disappointment at such limited customer service, I was told that “the money clip is made of plastic, and you shouldn’t expect it to last forever.”
I said that I understood the company’s position, but that the company should also understand that I intended to post a number of reviews about my experiences with the money clip and Storus Products, on various internet websites. I hope this correspondence is forwarded to company management, and that they learn that customer-unfriendly policies such as those of Storus Corporation will cost significantly more over the long run, than “making things right.”
cc: various websites
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October 22nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Anon -
I’ve posted your comment in its entirety; good luck with your attempts to get their attention.
K
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May 5th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Anon and everyone,
I am the Director of Sales for the Storus Corporation. Obviously, i have taken a moment to read your reply in regard to the Smart Money Clip Lite. I, obviously, do not see all the customer service inquiries but I do take your opinion of our product seriously. Typically on the Smart Money Clip Lite, since its made of polycarbonate it shouldn’t have broken like it did. I would like to offer you this, please contact me directly and we will replace you SMC Lite. We have since revised our return policy after 30 days and now will replace our products after 30 days if you pay shipping and handling which is only $5.95. This doesn’t include engraved products, but that doesn’t apply to this situation. Obviously, in this situation i will waive that and solve this problem.
I hope this helps, please email me at andrew.gilton@storus.com to fix this situation.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Andrew
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July 25th, 2009 at 2:32 am
My lightweight “wallet” is free.
I use a heavy blue rubber band that holds together stalks of fresh broccoli in the supermarket. Buy the broccoli and the rubber band comes with it at no extra charge.
The rubber band keeps together all the essentials that you mentioned, plus a few more: a small stack of two credit cards, atm/debit card, driver’s license, auto club card, etc. Bills, folded in half twice, go at the bottom of the stack.
If I want to have a certain bills handy, then they go at the top of the stack. (An antiques market that I attend charges $6 admission, so ahead of time, I place a one and a five at the top of the stack.)
In the middle of the stack I have two additional items. First, a tiny “folder” made from an index card. Second, inside the folder, a folded-up sheet of paper with contact information for family, friends, neighbors, doctor, dentist, hairdresser, etc.
The folder is a 3 x 5 index card folded in half.
I type the contact information on my computer and then print it on a sheet of standard 8.5 x 11 paper. Then I fold the sheet of paper in half four times.
My rubber band wallet goes in my front pants pocket.
Yes, this reply is long enough as it is, but please allow me to add a few more thoughts on pockets.
First, it’s probably better to carry any lightweight wallet in your front pocket rather than your back pocket. It’s easier for you to retrieve and harder for a pickpocket to retrieve. It’s also more comfortable when you’re sitting.
Second, if you’re female, as I am, most of your pants probably don’t have a back pocket. (Jeans are an obvious exception.) So if you’re female, your front pocket often is your only option.
Third, male or female, if you like to carry your wallet in your pants, avoid buying pants without pockets. (Sounds obvious, sure, but remember that sweat pants and yoga pants often lack pockets.)
Fourth, if you sometimes wear skirts or dresses, you may want to make it a point to only buy ones with pockets.
And finally, if you’re female, you might want to carry your wallet in your pants even if you also carry a purse. Your purse can be lost or stolen, but you’ll still have your wallet.
Kris
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Kevin Reply:
July 25th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Kris: wow. Thanks for a great comment; I’m sure you’ve given some readers something to think about & consider! I have a buddy who does much the same thing… thanks for sharing!
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February 7th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Have a look at my wallet band invention called the Bandit Wallet – http://www.banditwallet.com
I used rubber band wallets for years and finally got sick of them breaking… So, I set out to invent a solution. Fast forward 2 years and 200+ prototypes and I launched the Bandit a few weeks ago (Feb 2010).
The bandit will definitely give your butt some relief for the “George Costanza-esque bulging wallet” types out there….
What makes the bandit great is it’s made of durable, elastic fabric with rubber woven on the inside. The rubber grips your cash / cards while sliding easily into your pocket. Have a look at my site and tell me what you think.
Drew
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