What do you carry in your wallet? We asked our office

I can be a pretty nosy person.

It’s important that I know what other people are reading, what they did on the weekend, or what their favourite coffee shops are. I’m one of those people who shamelessly binge-watches strangers’ YouTube videos about what’s in their bag or what they eat in a day.

Recently, after a YouTube marathon watching people talk about their stuff, I started wondering about my co-workers. What did they have in their bags? And then, (like a complete weirdo), I began to wonder: What do they have in their wallets?

I was genuinely curious. If you think about it, what’s in someone's wallet can tell you a lot about the person. Reward cards hint at whether you’re a techie or a book lover, while a wallet stuffed with cash says you might take a more old-school approach to money (or, you’re just plain old rich).

Surprisingly, when I asked the office to open their wallets to me, many did. Here’s a look at three different wallets and my (very unscientific) take on what they say about each person.

The Average Joe

The owner: Our 38-year-old marketing manager

What type of wallet? A black leather Dunhill wallet

What’s in his wallet?

• March 2017 TTC Metropass
• February 2017 TTC Metropass
• Ontario health card
• Ontario driver’s license
• RBC debit card
• RBC VISA Infinite Avion credit card
• Aeroplan membership card
• Manulife benefits card
• An indoor rock climbing membership card
• CAR2GO member card (doesn’t own a car, so uses this often)
• Girlfriend’s business card
• Old debit/credit cards (he doesn’t use these, but still has them in there)

Do you usually carry cash? No, never.

How do you make most of your purchases? Credit card, though up until three months ago I used my debit card for everything until everyone here convinced me I needed to use a credit card for the rewards points.

What item in your wallet do you use the most? Credit card.

What’s the most random thing in your wallet? The indoor rock climbing ‘free membership’ card from Joe Rockhead’s… I don’t even know why I have it still. I’ve only gone once.

What’s in your digital wallet? I use Apple Pay for my credit card, I also frequently use the RBC banking app. I also the CAR2GO and Uber apps, and an app called Hotel Tonight for when I’m travelling. I don’t use any loyalty cards.

Anything missing that you’d normally have in there? No.

Anything you could do without? The Aeroplan card, and the debit and credit cards that I don’t use anymore.

How often do you clean out your wallet? Once every couple of months.

My thoughts? I dubbed this person our office ‘Average Joe’ — he had everything in his wallet that you’d expect a thirty-something urbanite to have. Not being the biggest techie in the office, I was a bit surprised to discover that he uses Apple Pay, Uber, and CAR2GO — and I certainly wouldn’t have pegged him as a rock climber! I wonder what else we don’t know about him...

The Hoarder

The owner: Our 24-year-old content writer

Type of wallet? A turquoise leather Coach wallet

What’s in her wallet?

• LowestRates.ca business cards (that have been in there forever and are outdated with the wrong email address)
• Boyfriend’s business card
• A fortune from a fortune cookie that says “You will soon be honored by someone you respect”
• A Presto receipt from loading her card with $50
• Two prepaid VISA cards (unknown balances)
• Gift cards to Walmart, Nike, Fairview Mall, Starbucks (unknown balances)
• SCENE points card
• Shoppers Optimum points card
• Plum Rewards card
• Bus passes for York Region Transit (VIVA) (She complained once about them skipping her stop and they sent her these)
• Walmart receipt for a purchase and a return (She recently bought new tweezers and didn’t realize they were $30, so she returned them right away)
• University of Waterloo ‘Watcard’
• TD VISA Infinite First Class credit card
• TD debit card
• Driver’s License (G2)
• Manulife benefits card
• Health card
• $15.20 Canadian, $0.11 USD

Do you usually carry cash? Not usually, because if I do I get excited that I have it and then spend it too quickly.

What’s your most common method of payment? Credit card.

What item in your wallet do you use the most? Credit card.

What’s the most random thing in your wallet? Probably the fortune. It’s not even a good fortune!

Anything you could do without? Probably most of the things, really — definitely the receipts, and I think most of the gift cards are empty, so I don’t know why I even carry them around.

Anything missing that you’d normally have in there? Not really, I have a Presto card I use a lot but I don’t keep it in my wallet.

What’s in your digital wallet? I use an app called ‘Stocard’ for all of my loyalty cards — on there I have the ones I use the most (that are also in my wallet) which are Optimum, Plum Rewards and my SCENE card, and I also have American Eagle, Sephora, David’s Tea and Guess, which I rarely use. I don’t use a banking app or Apple Pay, but I do use the Uber app.

How often do you clean out your wallet? Once a month I’ll clean out receipts, and if I’m carrying change I’ll dump it all out into a Ziploc bag.

My thoughts? We had a great time going through this wallet — there seemed to be surprises in every pocket! I can’t be too judgemental here, because it reminded me of my own wallet (I’m most definitely a hoarder in this department). I was impressed that she’d taken the time to digitally store all of her loyalty cards in an app! I need to get on that.

The Minimalist

The owner? Our 26-year-old product manager

Type? A ‘magic elastic wallet case’ by jimmyCASE for iPhone 7+ 

What’s in his wallet?

• March 2017 TTC Metropass
• Driver’s license
• President’s Choice Financial debit card
• Scotiabank Momentum VISA

Do you usually carry cash? No, never.

What’s your most common method of payment? Credit card.

What item in your wallet do you use the most? My credit card, or my Metropass.

What’s the most random thing in your wallet? Nothing really, they’re all pretty essential.

Anything you could do without? I guess my debit card. I only ever really use it if I need to get cash out.

Anything missing that you’d normally have in there? No.

What’s in your digital wallet? I use an online banking app, but not often. I use Uber a lot, as well as an app called ‘Frenzy’, where I can find out about exclusive shoe releases. I also use an app called ‘Splitwise’ that allows me to keep track of splitting expenses with friends. I don’t have any loyalty cards — though I probably should. Oh, and I also use the McDonald’s app. They have coupons!

How often do you clean out your wallet? Never. I don’t need to.

My thoughts? This is the wallet that dreams are made of. Imagine carrying around only FOUR cards? I was impressed by the simplicity, though I don’t think I could ever be so minimal. I was, however, surprised to learn that he doesn’t use any loyalty points. Turns out he just prefers to invest in nice shoes, instead.