I've been using standard bifolds my whole life. I'm intrigued by the new minimalist wallets designed mostly to handle cards, but wonder how to address other things that still need to be carried. If you use one of these wallets, I'd be curious how you solve for:
As an aside, it also occurs to me that this is a variation on the 80-20 rule in that these wallets seem perfectly designed to handle the handful of cards that represent 80-90% of the instances I need to retrieve something from a wallet while the larger number of items I rarely need but have to have handy for rare situations cause all the complications.
Thanks!
- Cash. I almost never pay cash any more and can go months without visiting an ATM, but still carry a decent amount for the times it is unavoidable, including both full purchases and occasional small tips for which it is always handy to have some 1s and 5s ready. Most of these wallets seem to use a band or clip, with the cash often outside the actual wallet. I don't love the idea of flashing cash every time I take out the wallet, and it seems harder to access specific bills compared to the ability to select them from a bifold.
- Drivers license and other non-financial cards - health insurance, work ID, paper affinity cards from the local place that still uses a hole punch to track purchases for free coffee, etc. Not everything can go in a smartphone wallet and frankly if I'm unconscious I want emergency or hospital personnel to be able to determine who I am and my insurance etc., without dealing with phone security. Generally, though most of these are the same size as credit cards they seem ill-suited for the wallet slots in the newer model wallets. Or maybe I'm wrong.
- Business cards, I still need them, though mostly just for occasional situations. I think I have a solution of just keeping a stash in my primary and backup shoulder bags and then I'm unlikely to be anywhere I need them without some on hand. This is pretty much what I do already though I still keep a couple in my wallet.
- RFID blocker - good idea. But my work ID uses -something something magic short distance tech - to open locked doors and allow access to the elevator bank. I'm not going to wear a lanyard and if my wallet blocks the "waves hands whatever" it's more trouble than it is worth to dig that card out several times every day instead of just removing the entire wallet and tapping the security reader touchpoint.
As an aside, it also occurs to me that this is a variation on the 80-20 rule in that these wallets seem perfectly designed to handle the handful of cards that represent 80-90% of the instances I need to retrieve something from a wallet while the larger number of items I rarely need but have to have handy for rare situations cause all the complications.
Thanks!
