How to Save Money by Regularly Cleaning Out Your Purse

Lisa Riggs
Most women carry a purse of handbag on a daily basis. Unless that regular bag is very small and shallow, chances are your handbag often becomes cluttered and over stuffed. In order to keep well organized and not lose time during the day searching for necessary items such as keys, wallet and cellphone, it is quite important to clean out that purse on a somewhat regular basis. In addition to saving time and keeping stress at bay, regularly cleaning out your handbag or purse can boost your bank account too.

Locate Misplaced Coupons, Receipts And Rebate Forms. A woman's handbag often becomes a mecca of items related to shopping. It is the general place to hold store receipts, coupons and offers for rebates. These items can quickly become forgotten while in the midst of work and home responsibilities. A quick clean up of that purse at least once a week can ensure that you don't lose out on any savings or being able to successfully return an unwanted item for a refund.

Find Things You Forgot You Had. From extra feminine products to hair accessories emergency snack packages for the kids, a woman's handbag generally holds many items needed to keep her family well taken care of. Regularly going through your handbag and taking inventory of what essentials and non essentials are residing in there, can prevent you from making unnecessary purchases down the road.

Eliminate Forgotten Bills And Payments. If you regularly hit the mailbox on the way out and stick the mail in your bag while running errands or going off to work, you may occasionally forget about the bills that were shoved in there. Likewise, if you pay your monthly bills the traditional way of sending them through the mail, you may place the envelopes with the checks in your bag to be mailed the next day. Your hectic schedule may cause these things to slip your mind and suddenly you have late fees and dings on your credit report from late and missing payments. Designating at least one day a week to go through your purse with a fine tooth comb will ensure that those bills do not go forgotten and unpaid.

The Bottom And Side Pockets Of A Handbag Often Hold Loose Change. Many of us do not take the time to carefully place those quarters and dimes we receive in change in the coin holder of our wallets. That loose change gets thrown into the handbag and quickly forgotten. Over time, that change can add up to serious money. If you go through your handbag at least once a week and transfer that change to a jar or empty coffee can, you may be surprised at the accumulation at the end of the month. You can continue to use only paper money for your purchases and designate those coins as a holiday fund or a as a down payment for a major purchase in the future.

Maintaining The Cleanliness Of Your Handbag Helps It To Retain It's Shape. A constant bulging purse can stretch out a handbag over time, altering it's shape and putting stress on the material. This will shorten the life of the bag and make it necessary to shell out money for a replacement long before you should have to.

Published by Lisa Riggs

Happily married mom of two wonderful girls.  View profile

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  • C. Jeanne Heida11/8/2010

    Oh, I had to laugh at that title cause I knew EXACTLY what you were referring to. I can't count the number of times that I lost important things in my purse which ended up costing me money ~ I switched to carrying just a wallet thinking that would solve the problem, but now I'm losing stuff in my coat pockets. There's no winning!

  • Tricia Goss11/7/2010

    This is an issue for me. Thanks!

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