How to Use Money Clips

Much like watches, leather wallets are testaments to a gentleman’s personal taste and style. But despite all the sophistication that comes with well-made billfolds, it doesn’t take long for business cards and receipts to add up. As you know, no nobleman wants to haul around a brick-sized wallet in whichever pocket.

This is where the money clip comes in. The money clip wallet is an excellent alternative to traditional wallets, thanks to its minimalistic design. It’s slim, lightweight, and extremely easy-to-use. If anything, they can tuck neatly into the side or back pocket of your trouser or hide discreetly in the breast pocket of your coat. You can choose some of the best money clips from best.wiki among many styles.

All the same, if you don’t know how to properly use it, the investment won’t be worth it. So here’s…

A Comprehensive Guide to Using Money Clips

The first step to learning how a money clip works is to understand the basics. The contemporary money clip has two main parts: the prong and the body. These are the parts that actually make the clip which holds your cash.

With that in mind, it’s crucial to note that there are about four types of these wallets: pump handle, stiff, spring/ hinged, and magnetic. For most of these, the user process is the same:

1. Stuck your Bills

Once you have your preferred money clip with you, grab your paper bills and create a small, neat stack (from them). If anything, you can order your bills in two ways:

• For convenience, place the smaller bills on top and the bigger ones on the bottom. This way, it will be easy to pull out the smaller bills from your clip once the stuck gets folded.
• For security, let the bigger bills come top while the smaller ones stay at the bottom. So when anyone looks at your money clip, all they’ll see are smaller bills, which can discourage pickpockets.

2. Slide the Stack of Cash and your Cards into the Money Clip

As a rule of thumb, slide your stick of cash (fold first) into your money clip first, then follow up with the cards. The pressure exerted by the prongs will ensure you stack stays in place. This is unless yours is a plain money clip.

In such a case, it’s best to first slip your cards (ID, debit, and credit card) into the centre of the stacked cash. You can then secure the entire mass with your clip. And as you know, some of them come with an attached cardholder.

For these, start with slipping the cards into the cardholder, the follow up with the money. This way, you can tell how many cards will be enough for your specific money clip. Otherwise, you might end up misshaping the clip.

3. Slip the Money Clip into one of your Pockets

Once you have the cards and cash in order inside it, the device is ready for use. All you need to do now is figuring out which pocket is best to place your money clip. Your options include:

• The front pocket- Front pockets are the easiest to access. Especially when it comes to retrieving money quickly and discreetly. Nonetheless, placing a full money clip in your front pocket is sure to take up the space you would want to use for your keys, phone, etc.
• The rear pocket- Considering how sleek and slim money clips are, placing them in your rear pocket can be convenient. But as Todd Hanshaw, former Wynn Magazine style director notes, “nothing should go into your back pocket, ever!” Because placing a full one into your back pocket not only makes you a prime target for pickpockets but can also lead to spinal misalignment. Especially if you sit on your money clip wallet for hours on end.
• The Breast Pocket- In terms of access (and security), the breast pocket of a jacket or coat is just as good as the front one. Though you need to be careful not to lose it by leaving your jacket or coat behind.

4. Learn to Pull Money from your Clip as Needed

As you may know, one of the biggest advantage money clips offer is the ability to seamlessly pull single cards or bills from it. But this requires a little practice to perfect. All the same, you can alternatively be pulling the entire stack out whenever you need something, before putting everything back in place.

Though this is a long and relatively time-consuming process that you can avoid by stacking your cards and bills properly. Simply place smaller bills in the middle of larger bills to be able to easily fish individual bills accordingly.

So in broad strokes, using a money clip involves:

• Gathering your credit cards and paper bills
• Folding the bills in half
• Pushing the bills (folded side first) into the clip for the prongs to hold them in place
• Sliding your cards under the prongs. Though some money clips come with bands and pockets to hold these.
• Putting the money clip in an ideal pocket.
• Reaching in and grabbing a bill or pulling out the entire stick whenever you want to utilize your cash.

Using a Magnetic Money Clip

It’s important to note that there’s a difference in how a mechanical clip works as compared to a magnetic one. You see, with a mechanical clip, the more money you put into it, the greater its clamping force. But with magnetic clips, the forces work in the opposite direction.

As in, the magnetic force is strongest when the two opposing sides are close together and becomes weaker as they move apart. In other words, don’t expect your magnetic money clip to hold tightly if you put too much money (or cards) in it.

Also, if you go for a magnetic money clip with really strong magnets, you might end up demagnetizing your credit cards, especially if they’re low-coercivity cards.

In Summary

Switching to a money clip is incredibly liberating. Yes, it is the perfect cure for a bulging wallet. Once you know how to properly use it, you’ll definitely love it.

The short guide above will help you learn how to use your money clip in an organized and efficient manner.