At the weekend I had a walk into the town centre for a look around. I wasn’t going for anything specific. It was really just to get some exercise and to catch up with some podcasts while walking. As I was just outside County Mall I was about to go into HMV for a browse and realised that I had left my wallet at home. There is a real chance that I could have been tempted to fork out for an LP, or maybe the 4K director’s cut of the first Star Trek film, neither of which I really need. It had also been in the back of my mind that I might get a small fry-up at the All-Day Cafe in town, but instead I just walked back home with my bank balance intact.

So there you have it: simple way to save money is to just leave the wallet at home.

I do realise that, in theory, I could have used my phone to pay for something but I do not entirely trust that method to work every time and could not face the embarrassment of it failing.

I am actually fairly serious about leaving the wallet at home. I do remember when I felt a bit naked unless I had some cash on me, and would never leave the house without making sure I had keys and wallet, but when I started walking a lot for the exercise that has changed.

In fact my default now is to only take my wallet with me if I am intending to buy something or expect to be taking a bus. I do take a card with me if I am going out in the car or on the bike, just in case I need to get fuel or have some sort of mechanical failure, but 90% of the time I go out of the front door I am on foot. I find it quite liberating to be without cash, cards or even ID and I am certainly saved from impulse buys.

This weekend was a mistake though. I had walked down to the supermarket to pick up a few things and after I dropped them off at home I was going to go into town and perhaps get some new trainers, but decided to take the dogs out first. I left my wallet behind because I needed the pocket space for poo bags and treats and forgot to pick it up again afterwards. Still. It saved me a few quid.

Now if only I can find a way to lock my cards up while browsing the websites of Burning Shed or Cherry Red…