Locate your wallet, credit card case, phone sleeve (yep, that one is easy!) or anything else you might carry to hold your cards.

Dump out the contents onto a flat surface, preferably onto paper towel or other disposable cloth. 

Clean each card, front and back, with alcohol or another cleanser.

Take a photo of the front and back of each card. Be sure to focus clearly to capture not only the card number, expiration date and security code (CVV) but also the customer service phone number. All of this information will be invaluable in an emergency. Alternatively, lay the cards out on a photocopy machine, and scan them to save them on your laptop. With the new work from home trend ,you likely have an all-in-one copier, printer and scanner to do this. Name a folder in photos on your phone called “Wallet Dump” and move photos/scans to this folder for easy access.

Check expiration dates on each card, and cut up any old cards. Replace any outdated cards as needed.

Enter the credit card company and customer service number for each card into your contacts. Also enter the card number – or at least the last four digits of each card in “notes” under contacts. 

Create a spreadsheet to list your credit cards, especially if you carry a balance or think during these trying times you may need to. The spreadsheet should include the name of each lender on left and on the top column headings type in: statement date, current balance, statement balance, available credit, interest rate and current monthly required minimum payment. Fill in the blanks and reflect on what you purchased to accumulate this debt. Worth it?

Don’t forget to clean cards after each use and to enter new card information into your records as they arrive!