# Where TF is my wallet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153 "2023-01-13T03:17:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/1 "2023-01-13T03:17:50Z")
I suppose it could have missed my pocket the last time I used it, but I would have noticed that, right? Guy was behind me and I didn’t say anything. Walked 20 ft to my car. Pockets are not loose. So I get home and immediately change. This morning I take my stuff out of yesterday. No wallet. Nowhere in my closet. Not in the laundry. Maybe the dogs took it but it is nowhere, not even in shreds in the backyard. I have looked everywhere except where it is. Not in my car, I’ve looked there. I find it almost impossible that it is not in the house but then where the F is it? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/2 "2023-01-13T03:35:27Z")
Were you wearing a jacket when you last used your wallet? I _never_ put my wallet in my jacket pocket. Except when I did. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/3 "2023-01-13T04:18:37Z")
I was about to ask about a jacket. In the car, did you try the glove compartment? At home, did you check places like the bathroom or the refrigerator/freezer? Did you bring home any shopping bags, and have they been checked? You said you checked laundry, by which I assume you mean the hamper. Try the actual washer? Under/in dog beds? All these, BTW, are based on experiences I or a family member have had. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/4 "2023-01-13T04:24:59Z")
It’s in the side pocket of the backpack you used but forgot about. You put it there because you were going to ride your bike. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/5 "2023-01-13T04:33:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > ere you wearing a jacket when you last used your wallet? I _never_ put my wallet in my jacket pocket. Except when I did. Yes car, glove compartment, center divider, under seats, jacket pockets. Actual laundry because I did a load last night. There is no reason it should not be in my 4’x4’ closet unless the dogs dragged it somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/6 "2023-01-13T04:42:46Z")
Any chance you put it on your car roof and then drove off? I did that with a purse a while ago. Looked everywhere, asked everyone. Received it in the mail weeks later, totally bashed up and obviously driven over, with everything inside except a $100 bill and my Covid vaccine card. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/7 "2023-01-13T04:56:26Z")
No it went right in my back pocket in 7 11. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/8 "2023-01-13T05:02:09Z")
> [@Nayna](#): > > Any chance you put it on your car roof and then drove off? I did that with a purse a while ago. While that may not be what happened in this particular instance, it is an excellent guess. Both my father and I did that ONCE in our lives. It’s a painful lesson, but you definitely don’t forget it, ever. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/9 "2023-01-13T12:28:15Z")
I have a pouch I carry \*everything \* in. Wallet, cash, credit cards, drivers license, cannabis card, hearing aid batteries, knife, etc. One day I couldn’t find it when I stopped for gas. I figured I left it at home. But it wasn’t there. Must be at work. Nope. Looked everywhere. Tore apart my car, couch, etc. I was getting frantic. The looked at my credit card use online and saw I used a card at a brewery right before I lost my pouch. Stopped there and the bartender said “hey, I think you left something here”. Relief! ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/10 "2023-01-13T12:33:42Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > > [@Nayna](#): > > > > Any chance you put it on your car roof and then drove off? I did that with a purse a while ago. > > While that may not be what happened in this particular instance, it is an excellent guess. Both my father and I did that ONCE in our lives. It’s a painful lesson, but you definitely don’t forget it, ever. I have also done this. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/11 "2023-01-13T12:56:22Z")
It’ll be in the last place you look, because… after that you’ll stop looking. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/12 "2023-01-13T12:57:16Z")
The key to avoiding leaving stuff on your car roof is not to set it there in the first place. If you must set something down to get into or out of your car, set it on the hood directly in front of the driver’s seat, not on the roof. That spot is as good a shelf as the roof is, but the odds of driving off with [whatever] still sitting there are LOTS reduced. As a professional traveler who’s always carrying a bunch of stuff that can’t be left behind or it’ll disappear, and it might be hours or days before I could get back to look for it, you learn how to _never_ set something down where there’s not a built-in physical reminder to pick it back up again. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/13 "2023-01-13T12:58:35Z")
It’s out partying with @slicedalone’s missing tire valve cap. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/14 "2023-01-13T13:10:47Z")
You need a [wallet with a GPS tracker](https://webtech7.medium.com/ek16-amazing-smart-wallets-with-gps-tracker-74f8de0cc0ba). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/15 "2023-01-13T13:28:50Z")
I’m disorganized and misplace stuff all the time. Here’s what helps me find stuff (most of this is really just ‘finding stuff 101’): - Close eyes and visualize recent last steps, and _ **carefully** _ retrace them. - When you retrace the spots, look thoroughly. For example, I tend to absent-mindedly set things on random horizontal surfaces. So I check every horizontal surface in easy reach area of every spot I visited. - Check for unexpected situations: Did you get a drink from the refrigerator? Check to see if you put your wallet on a shelf in there. Yes, I’ve done stuff like that. I’ve also done stuff like put my phone (with black phone case) face-down on a black surface and I looked there 6 times and didn’t notice it because it was camouflaged. - Use your imagination. Did you maybe toss your wallet on top of the dresser and it slid over and went behind? Did it fall off the table into a basket of laundry? - Once you’re confident you _ **throroughly** _ searched an area, don’t bother checking it again. Use your time and energy to check fresh areas. I _ **misplace** _ stuff all the time, but using these steps I almost never _ **lose** _ stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/16 "2023-01-13T13:33:29Z")
The smartest money I ever spent was for a Tile tracker for my wallet and my keys. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/17 "2023-01-13T13:34:55Z")
When and where was the last time and place you _definitely_ remember having it? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/18 "2023-01-13T13:36:31Z")
It’s so frustrating because quite literally my route from the last time I used it is so short. Buy my drink and put wallet in pocket (yeah that could be a failure point but I would think I’d notice if I missed my pocket), walk 20 feet to my car, drive home, go to the bedroom, change my clothes. There’s very few places it could have been lost. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/19 "2023-01-13T13:40:36Z")
Do you keep it in your front pocket ? If you didn’t shove it in far enough it can fall out if you sit down, so most likely place to lose it would be either in the car shoved to the side of the seat or on the ground outside the car before you shut the door. So my guess is either in the car on the side of the seat or in the parking lot of wherever you were. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153/20 "2023-01-13T13:42:30Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > Do you keep it in your front pocket ? Back pocket [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-tf-is-my-wallet/978153.md?page=2)