<p>I had a thought today. Think about how much $$$ you have invested in your purse (or maybe pants or jacket pocket if you are a guy) - the value of all the items you are carrying.</p>
<p>When I was growing up, my mom’s purse? Wallet and keys, in our family - no credit cards, personal stuff like lipstick, kleenex, sunglasses - not too much.</p>
<p>Today? Cell phone. Nook. Car keys w/computer chip. Flip video camera. Ipod. Remote car starter. Holy smokes, the stakes have gotten RIDICULOUS for having your purse stolen!!!</p>
<p>So think about it - how big of a chunk of change are you carrying around on your shoulder???</p>
<p>My purse itself? Target knock-off.
Cash inside? $20
I-phone
Credit cards
Keys to house on fob with GDO. Either one gets you in and facing security system.
Security card key to school building - could be cancelled electronically in case of theft. Cameras catch you on the way in.</p>
<p>The big difference is in the credit card system -a risk even if you don’t lose your card.
Plus the phone data…</p>
<p>Similarly - think of the value of the stuff a typical college student has in the dorm room vs. the 70s. Multiply that by the 3 people in the triple and we’re talking some serious value.</p>
<p>Whenever I can I actually take my wallet and my phone out of my purse and put them in my interior coat pocket-- if my purse gets snatched he’s not getting away with anything but make up and an inhaler. The other day it wasn’t possible for me to fit things in my pockets, so I wore my purse under my coat. If someone pointed a gun at me and demanded it there would be no helping it, but I try not to make myself an easy target for someone running past. As often as possible if I have to go out after dark alone I don’t even carry a purse just so maybe I’ll look less enticing.</p>
<p>I carry a teeny tiny purse (actually a wallet on a strap) that includes only the following items:</p>
<p>Little zippered pouch that holds cash and credit cards, license, etc.
Cell phone
Reading glasses
Pen and pencil
Lip gloss
Business cards</p>
<p>And that’s it. I also have a Longchamp tote (see thread of the same name) that holds chargers, Blackberry, umbrella, rain poncho, the latest market analysis of my house, make up, nose spray, sewing kit . . . . . But for stepping out, I only need the tiny purse.</p>
<p>My MIL doesn’t carry a purse. It’s kind of amazing. She has cash and maybe a credit card in a pocket and I’m not sure where she keeps her phone and car key. But no purse. I carry a pretty small one, but that’s because I carry a small old phone. When I upgrade my phone, I will need a new purse because new phones are bigger. I keep it minimal, but it’s what’s in my wallet that’s ridiculous. No matter how many times I purge it, there is so much more in it than there once used to be – various store credit cards (because I get lured into opening them by special promotions), various insurance cards, deal cards – e.g. get the card stamped enough times and you get something free, etc. I have a girlfriend who has everything you could possibly think of in her purse. She used to carry binoculars in them so that when she picked her kids up at soccer practice, she could look across the field of hundreds of kids and spot them.</p>
<p>Well, I admit it, I have an expensive handbag (around $600) that was given to me as a gift. It’s a beautiful plum color in patent leather and it’s a standout piece, IMO.</p>
<p>I do get your point with respect to the cell phone, iPod, Kindle / Nook, but regardless of whether it was 1950 or 2010, the keys to your car and house are pretty bad things to lose! The keys themselves may be fancier today than they were in 1950, but either way, the thief has access to two of the most expensive things you own.</p>
<p>I have two wallets-one with my license- debit card/credit card, ins card, & a couple business cards & another with the rest of my gift cards, garden shop punch cards & membership cards- which I don’t always take with me.</p>
<p>Then I have my ipod touch & my blackberry ( in April I am consolidating to an iphone- knock on wood).
a pen, and my keys which are on a carabiner that I clip on the strap. ( an orange floral one at that, so I can find it)</p>
<p>I usually can fit this stuff into a tiny goatskin pouch with a narrow strap that I wear crossbody so it doesn’t slide off my shoulders. I wish I could find another one that was like it- the strap is adjustable down to " fanny pack" if really necessary ;), one side w a zipper pocket, the other snap.
( if I have my contacts on, I have my reading glasses, either in my cleavage or in a pocket- if they were in my bag I would be constantly opening it)</p>
<p>If I want to bring my powershot digital camera, I bring a larger bag. In the summer I often carry a woven bag from Ghana that I can stuff a sweater into as well.
My laptop can fit into the woven bag or my leather coach bag, but usually I don’t need to bring it.</p>
<p>I managed to pretty much downsize to one of those wallets on a strap for regular around town use. I save the bigger/nicer purses for longer trips and when I got out to nicer places. My cell phone is typically clipped to my waistband, and keys in a pocket. My glasses have the lens that adjust with the sunlight, so I keep the actual sunglasses in the car.</p>
<p>For all those discount cards (not the punch kind) I found a neat Android app called Key Ring. It scans all the discount cards into the app, so you wallet or real king ring aren’t overloaded with the cards. I find by using this method, I’m actually using the cards more. One downside: In order to have it scanned, I can’t use the self service lane.</p>
<p>My cash is in my jeans pocket, and so is my skinny little tiny wallet that I got because I only wanted it to hold my license, insurance cards, etc—and my cell phone is in my coat pocket. I have nearly stopped using purses except for when I go to dressy things where my outfit does not have pockets, and then the purse is holding the license, car keys, tissues, lipstick. </p>
<p>The larger things are in a day-size backpack, which I often use — the knitting (making baby hats for NICU), the reading glasses, the pill bottle with daily meds, a notebook if needed and my daily calendar if going to the Dr (to make appts), and yes the binoculars (birds).</p>
<p>I don’t carry a purse.
There are no keys to the house–we have a combination lock on the door.
My iPhone is always zipped into my right pocket; my car key is in the left.
My wallet is either in my pocket or in a secret drawer in my car.</p>
<p>My car has the essentials: raincoat, hats (three), gloves (2 pairs), spare shoes, etc.</p>
<p>Yes, almost everything I wear has pockets. I do have two tiny cross-body purses that hold everything I usually have in my pockets, which I use when traveling.</p>
<p>I have a very small purse. It has my wallet full of plastic and keys to my car, my house, my garage, my BF’s house, and my parents house as well as employee ID badge for work. Cell phone normally goes in my pocket however it does fit in my bag. Sometimes I just put my license, 1 card and some cash in my small tiny wallet and put that in my pocket if I’m going somewhere that I don’t want to take my purse to (like a ball game).</p>
& membership cards- which I don’t always take with me.</p>