Prepare to lose your valuables

Sounds like a dumb thing to do, but how many of us really know what's in our wallet (or purse.) ? I had a box of keepsakes that I had been throwing things into for many years. It had a small coin collection that my mother had given to my son, when he was too young, and not ready to maintain it, so I kept it for him and planned to give it to him as a long lost gift. I also had a wind-up collectible car that my dad had given to me in 1952. The items were not that valuable to anyone but me. They certainly had more value to me, than the person who broke into the garage and stole them. Once they were gone, they again had value to me, but I could not remember all of the things in the box. That bothered me the most.

This feeling is described in a poem by William Shakespeare,

" For it so falls out
That what we have we prize not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then we rack the value; then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us
Whiles it was ours. "

You may have such a treasure box, or not. But whatever you have of any value to you or your insurance company, I suggest you start treating it that way now, instead of longing for its return or guessing at its contents after you lose it.

With this same thought, I suggest that while sitting on the couch, listening to music or the news or weather on television, that you dump the contents of your wallet or purse in your lap, and make a list or copy of its contents. The first thing is to place the your license, credit/debit cards, gas cards, and all those other things which you haven't looked at in years on a photocopier, or a scanner. Make sure to copy both sides as you need the customer service number on the back of the cards to report them stolen. When we lose our wallet, our first thought should be to cancel the cards right away. The easiest and quickest way is to call the service number and give them the stolen card number. If the only place to find that is on the card.....well now you have it. By the way, don't keep the list in your wallet. Store it in a safe place at home.

Remember to file a police report. It's unlikely you will get your stuff back, but it is important to the credit card and insurance people.

While sorting through your valuables, try to simplify your life by eliminating some of the stuff you do not need to carry around on a daily basis. Never keep things that cannot be replaced. That is what safes and safe deposit boxes are for.

I think this is part of my boy scout training. "Be prepared.!" Are you?