What's in Your Purse?

The contents of Louis Vuitton can tell a lot about your finances.

By Mary Claire Allvine

Barbara Carey, a serial entrepreneur and inventor in San Francisco, didn’t hesitate when asked to spill all of the contents of her $2,300 Chanel motorcycle handbag. Taking their cue from the Purse Project, developed by Valerie Udeh, brand manager at Wachovia, Carey and women like her are looking more closely at the stuff they carry around as a way to understand and improve their personal financial management. Like a horoscope or tea-leaf reading, interpreting the contents of their purses can either reconfirm what they want to believe about themselves, or it can give them fresh insight into who they really are. So Carey has dumped everything out for the world to see.

But first a word about the bag itself: Carey says she has no regrets about purchasing the expensive designer tote. “I’m very frugal, but I look at a purchase and decide how well I’m going to use something,” she says. “I’ve had this bag for three years, and I take it everywhere.” Her one other purse, a brown one, doesn’t give her “the same sense of confidence and power,” she adds.

And what about inside? There she carries lip liner (“For 15 years I’ve worn the same Lancôme color!”), a pen with her company’s logo on it, a Razr cell phone (“It has a camera, but no texting ability.”), a hairbrush, keys to her three homes, and her wallet, which lacks an ATM card. “My CFO gives me cash monthly,” she explains, “and that’s all I spend.”

Carey operates five companies under the Akasha corporate umbrella (FlipClip, Hairagami, dittie, vendPINK and The Carey Formula) with just 10 employees. Her credit cards, only two, are for shopping online or for her personal shopper to use on her behalf. Carey, who made her first million dollars at age 23, outsources any services not critical to her business or family life. “When my son was young, I took red-eyes to New York, had morning meetings, then returned to California in time to pick him up from school. No one could do that for me. I can and want to delegate shopping.” Carey’s bare-essentials purse certainly reflects the tight ship she runs in other aspects of her life, and that’s just the kind of insight the exercise can provide.

Of course, the process won’t give specific answers to financial problems any more than a tarot card reader will. But an honest view of who you are – possibly different than who you want to be financially – is powerful in and of itself. Jenny Ward, women’s segment marketing manager at Wachovia, notes that many women find the process inspiring, particularly when they share their purse contents with other women for feedback. “Women will openly share ideas, avoiding masculine stereotypes of financial competitiveness,” Ward says.

The contents of Donna Maria Coles Johnson’s Coach bag differ dramatically from Carey’s and reflect the portability of a woman’s life. “I need one bag for all the roles I play,” Johnson explains. “As a lifestyle coach, I’m living the balance among motherhood, marriage and professional satisfaction.” Her oversized sack comes with a diaper compartment and has dozens of pockets. Inside are barrettes, lip balm, tampons, tissues, children’s medical records, 3 x 5 postcards for her business, three books, keys, a cosmetics bag, a Thomas the Tank Engine show flier, napkins, a map of North Carolina, mail, faxes, a coupon for 20 percent off at Bed Bath & Beyond, a recipe for that night’s dinner, a cell phone, two years’ tax returns, checks to deposit, Equal and Splenda packets, a pocket Bible, two pens and several emery boards. She’s a testament to having it all – and somehow keeping it all in one place.

The receipts she carries in her wallet reflect a new financial initiative she has embraced. “We’re going to sit down quarterly with our accountant and go through receipts,” she says. “I have finally accepted that I need to take charge of our family’s finances. Quarterly meetings will keep us on track.” She and her husband recently paid off the debt they assumed to build their business, and Johnson intends to keep the family out of consumer debt. Says Ward: “Carrying those receipts around everywhere will certainly keep the goal of debt freedom on her mind!”

Wei-Chun Tai, an Atlanta marketing executive currently focused on selling a mortgage technology her company has developed, found that her purse reflects how her life has changed over the last few years. With an MBA in finance, Tai, in her mid-30s, was working in marketing at Nortel when her son was born. Constant travel made that position incompatible with motherhood, so, while on maternity leave in 2002, she started her own apparel business – a successful venture that has since been eclipsed by the mortgage software she started marketing to loan officers last year. After a few months, she’s three times ahead of sales projections and contemplating outside funding to spin off the company from its parent.

Tai’s purse is a Louis Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Papillon treasure she arranged to buy in Hong Kong five years ago when only the likes of Jennifer Lopez could find one in the U.S. Unfortunately, the bag attracted too much attention for her busy life in the States. “I had to put it away until last summer,” she says. “Now the style is commonplace, and I can carry it without strangers constantly asking me about it.”

Inside she carries malt crackers (“Some days I have no time for lunch.”), business cards (“I was caught once without a business card. Now I have cards everywhere.”), car keys (an Infiniti leased through her company), the deposit slip for a bonus for exceeding a sales goal, a $5.62 Bourbon Street Café receipt and Clinique Glosswear. Her purse tells experts that she’s focused on revenue, letting expenses take care of themselves.

Should you try this process at home, be ready to act, experts say. The life snapshot in your purse doesn’t lie. You’ll see how you spend, what’s orderly and what’s not in your life, and whether or not how you spend your days is in alignment with the goals you have set for yourself. Used right, it can be the kick-start to effective financial planning.

Spill It!

Looking for insights into the way you manage personal finances? They may be slung over your shoulder. Try spilling the contents of your own purse, asking these questions andhonestly assessing what the answers reveal.

1. What kind of purse is it? Why did you choose it? How much did it cost? This will indicate whether you are spending money on brands to reinforce an image, spending money without planning, or de-emphasizing fashion in favor of financial goals.

2. What’s in your wallet? Do you need all those cards? Why are you still carrying a checkbook? With these questions, you can focus on habits you’ve learned over time. Often financial change needs to start by replacing old habits with new ones better suited to your goals.

3. What is uniquely you in your purse? Photos? A memento? These personal touches remind us what is really important in life. If you find photos in your bag – or none at all – you might need to consider who takes priority in your day-to-day decisions. Your money, of course, should reflect those true priorities.

4. Do the receipts in your purse reflect normal spending and your financial goals? If you have receipts for items that have no link to your major financial goals, this may explain why they remain elusive. If you are proud of your spending decisions, then your financial goals are likely achievable.

5. What’s in your purse that shouldn’t be? Most women are their own toughest critics, so don’t beat yourself up about the three expense reimbursement forms still in your purse. Just remove them and start fresh. Snacks may indicate too much eating on the run.

This article originally appeared in the May.April 2007 issue of PINK Magazine.