Sushi Money

     I saved myself $6 yesterday, unintentionally.   I was going to surprise my son after school, and told him “Let’s go to town!”  “Are we going to McDonalds?!” he said… how did he know?   We had not been for over a month….  so we made the trip, planning to run some errands, and while standing in line I realized I had forgotten my wallet.  Bummer.   “Uh, son… I jut realized I forgot my wallet, and we’ll need to head back home since I have no other money.”  He took it very well for a 6-year old.  I think I was more frustrated… I really wanted to see the Happy Meal toy!   He says, “Why don’t you just go to the bank and get more money?  They know you there.”   I stared at him wondering why he thought that… my bank is out-of-state.   We talked about options, mostly how the .40 cents in my pocket wouldn’t buy us much these days.   So it was pizza from the freezer and salad for dinner.   I was very glad that I knew where my wallet was however… lying on the dining room table.

     A few weeks ago I asked myself the same question that Capital One does… “What’s in my wallet?” I wondered.  I found lots of stuff I didn’t need to carry around:  A couple of old credit cards, name and address cards, several gift cards (as good as money), and receipts that needed filed in the tax receipt shoebox.  I threw out what I didn’t need, filed the rest and marveled over how much junk I carried around that I did need in my wallet.   ”What would I do if I lost this stuff?” “What if my wallet really was lost, and not just forgotten?” I pondered.   So I jotted down my plan of action in case something like that happens:

1. Look really, really hard everywhere I could think of, especially under cushions and car seats.  If I couldn’t find it after no more than 12 hours (that’s my personal limit), or whenever I was positive it was stolen or lost, I would start the ball rolling.  
2. Contact the credit card and store card companies to notify of loss.  They will cancel the old ones immediately, and reissue new cards.  Any business credit cards?  Probably need to notify my employer’s accounting department.
3. Contact the bank(s) for ATM and credit/debit card loss notification.
4. Contact the bank for checkbook or outstanding checks, and have them place stop or cancel on those checks.  That will probably cost money, but money well spent to prevent loss. 
5. Discuss with bank and brokerage account personnel how to place a hold on transactions, or limit the amount of any transaction that might take place.  I wouldn’t want someone to be able to drain my savings or brokerage account.
6. Contact the state auto licensing office to notify of loss, and plan to get a new driver’s license.
7. Contact my employer’s security manager if I have a secure ID badge or door card that was in my wallet.  The same for any building or apartment door security card.
8. Review my homeowner’s insurance policy (some homeowner’s policies carry ID theft insurance).  But I wouldn’t know yet if my ID was going to be stolen, so I just want to review my options.
9. Other cards:  Library card, gift cards and miscellaneous business or association cards.  Some of these may have personal information on them.  If in doubt, I would call the organizations I knew, and explain the situation.
10. Hopefully no one carries their Social Security card in their wallet or purse anymore.  If so, then ID theft may be more of a possibility.
11. If after a day or two, I still have not found my wallet- or I believe that it was stolen, I will consider using a credit monitoring service such as MyFico.com, and place a ”fraud alert” with the credit bureaus.   I may not yet know if my ID was really stolen, but should be able to find out within a couple of days.    A credit monitoring service can provide email alerts and other information to tell the consumer if their credit profile has changed or if activity has taken place.   With a fraud alert, there should be no activity unless verified with the individual first.
12. I may consider filing a police report of a stolen wallet or purse.  Often insurance and credit card companies want to know that a consumer is being proactive, and reporting possible loss and fraud.   The police report will also better prepare the situation if ID theft is a possibility.

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     The last time I lost my wallet was a good while ago.  I left it at the driver’s license office, and remembered about an hour later.  I went back, and couldn’t find it anywhere.  I was sick to my stomach- I was younger, and at the time I carried everything in that wallet, and many sentimental or cool things I wanted to keep.  As I walked out the driver’s license office, I looked around… and about 10 yards down the sidewalk stood a tall trashcan.  On a hunch, I went and looked inside, and there it was!  I actually found my wallet.  Some sleazebag stole the money and threw the wallet in the trash.  I didn’t care about the money, I just wanted all my stuff and pictures back.  I don’t keep things in my wallet anymore that are really important to me!  And if I lose it, I’ve got a plan to get going again.  I may not have listed everything that needs done… is there something missing?  Please let me know what else you would do.

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