You Lost Your Wallet, Now What?

Standing in the check out line ready to pay, you reach for you wallet. it's not there! You check all of your pockets, you look on the ground around you, its not there either. Panic starts to set in, you retrace your steps inside the store and still nothing, you go to the customer service counter and ask if anyone has turned in a wallet; the clerk reply is no. You give them your name and phone number and brief description of the wallet in case someone finds and turns it in. Now, the panic is really setting in, your heart starts to race, your breathing becomes faster, your hands start shaking, you break out into a sweat.

You sprint to the car looking to the ground hoping to see it laying there only to have those hopes trashed. Upon reaching the car you are probably giving yourself a good harsh talking to; how could I have lost it?! how stupid! Getting even more upset and irate you begin asking yourself questions out loud; where did I last have it out? did I even bring it with me? Did if fall out in the car? By now you are tearing through your car, under the seats, in the seats, in the console, above the visor, in the glove box and now you are looking under and around the outside of the car and still nothing!

By now, you are getting physically and mentally exhausted from the anxiety and anger. You get in the drivers seat, pound your hands on the steering wheel and shout a couple of not so nice words while shaking your head. Now what?! What are you going to do? The house! check the house you say, maybe I left there.

You race home like Mario Andriette, pull in the drive, jump out and start looking on the ground all the way up to the door, nothing! OK, OK maybe its in the house; you go through the house like a cyclone looking everywhere, the bedroom – laundry baskets, under the bed, in yesterdays clothes and nada, moving to the living room – throwing couch and chair cushions across the room, next the bathroom (why, who knows). Onto the kitchen – the counter, the floor and still nothing. By now those not so pleasant words are free flowing from your mouth like water from a faucet. The anger and anxiety have reached their peak and you feel like your head is going to explode. How could you be so stupid?! you ask yourself. Collapsing into the nearest chair bowing your head to defeat; you know you have lost it for sure; so now what?

First things first, breath man, breath! Now stop and try to gather your thoughts calmly. What was in your wallet? Cash, credit cards, debit cards, drivers license, social security card, health insurance and vehicle insurance card, while trying to remember all this your mind starts to betray you and you start going blank. Damn it! I cant believe I lost it! OK, OK what else was in there? You start trying to regain control of your thoughts and begin going over the contents and start making a written list.

The next thing you want to do is whip out that handy dandy cell phone and call your bank ASAP! Tell them the situation and have them cancel your current debit and credit cards and reorder new ones. Have them flag your bank account; by flagging they can track any purchases made on that day and in the future. The bank will contact you before any purchases are authorized; to verify YOU made them. OK, thats good, you are starting to feel the tension and anger ease a bit.

Now, drivers license; you need a drivers license. Contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles and tell them of your situation. They will inform you of how to obtain a new license; in most cases you can present them with a birth certificate and letter from the social security administration stating you are who you say you are. OK, thats not so bad.

If you dont have a birth certificate you will need to obtain one from your local vital statistics department, you will also need to contact the social security administration and they will tell you where to go and how to obtain documentation of your social security number.

Insurance cards (health amp; car); you need new cards so contact your insurance companies and inform them of the situation and have them send you new ones. You will need a letter or temporary card from your car insurance company immediately. You can either go physically pick it up at their office or they can fax one to you if you have or are near a fax. OK, almost done and although the breathing, heart racing fear and anxiety are dwindling the anger is still lingering on.

You have made all the necessary calls and gathered all the how to info. Now you have to obtain all of your new I.D, cards and documents. If at all possible I suggest you take a day off of work and get it all done at once, other wise you will be trying to squeeze it in on lunch breaks and after work which are the worst times of day to do all of this. The lines are longer, people are in a hurry and tend to be extra rude. This is the last thing you want to deal with; you are aggravated enough as it is.

Now that you have obtained all of the lost documents, all is well and you can relax; not so fast there bub. Since your personal info is floating around in public you will want to check your credit report regularly. I am not trying to put you back in panic mode. You may never have a problem but, the odds of you being a victim of stolen identity increased the day you lost your wallet. So just play it safe, keep an eye on the reports and your wallet. The money of the person will be safe in the thin wallet for men traveling in different states. The folding feature of the wallet will protect it from being got stolen from the thieves in the market.