I always enjoy Capital One’s string of “What’s in your wallet?” commercials. It got me wondering how many people have peeked into their money-holder after viewing the TV ads.

But I’ve browsed the Internet and found many unkind words about the commercials that began running several years ago. One complaint caught my eye:

“I am writing you this letter to ask you to cease and desist in your commercial use of medieval Vikings, barbarians, and other louche fellows.”

This guy referred to a rampaging group of Vikings, which I found entertaining, that represented high rates and fees of rival credit cards. This particular ad ends when the wild bunch stops in mid-riot when a consumer pulls out a Capital One card.

“Your primitive and thuggish depictions of barbarians do a violence to history by flattening it beyond subtlety,” the blogger wrote. “I ask you to grant these groups their full complexity, a first step towards which might be having the spokesbarbarian no longer declare the tagline ‘What’s in your wallet?’ in a seriously poor Cockney accent.”

I suspect Capital One saved much moolah by hiring actors at the minimum rate for their TV spots, which now includes a barbarian breaking up his steak and a friend’s restaurant meal with a weapon.

Unfortunately, I recently found out what was in my wife’s wallet when she told me it was stolen from the car while parked in front of her gym.

“I might not have locked the car,” she said.

“Why didn’t you put your wallet in the trunck instead of under the driver’s seat like I have suggested repeatedly?” I asked.

I double-checked and came up empty. Then we took the necessary steps to protect Anita’s identity.

She reported the two credit cards that could be compromised and they were cancelled – and two new ones issued. Then she requested HMO and voter’s registration cards, which were snail mailed to her.

We went to our bank because she had our checking and money market numbers recorded. A warning to scrutinize any unusual requests was placed on both accounts. Luckily, no unauthorized intrusions have been attempted.

We went to a state driver’s license branch to replace the necessary picture ID. There was no line because luckily it was a new location in a developing area. The cost: $10.

Before she planned to apply in person for a Social Security card, we lucked out.

After I picked up a prescription and slipped it under the driver’s seat, I felt something else, sort of flat, but thick. Surprise -- it was her wallet. Right away I figured someone at her gym must have played a joke on her.

When I handed the wallet to Anita, she was dumbfounded. “Where did you get?” she asked.

“In your car.” I replied with a smirk.

Not a thing was missing, including a bit of cash. I figured the wallet got lodged under the driver’s seat where she placed it when going to exercise. The wallet must have shifted out of arm’s reach when she drove home.

When I took the wheel during a trip to the bank and a couple of stores, the wallet must have lurched forward after I applied the brakes a bit harder than usual.

At least Anita didn’t have to go to the Social Security office and wait in a long line. Immediately, she followed some of my suggestions to lighten her load: She put the card in her bedroom end table draw along with the duplicate driver’s license, plus credit HMO and voter’s cards. Ah, but she hasn’t promised to lock her purse in the trunk when parking at the gym.

I recently read online that the way individuals handle day-to-day cash speaks volumes about their money personality.

Some finance experts say it’s unwise not to have any idea how much cash you have in your wallet because you’ll just whip out a credit or debit card.

That portrayal doesn’t fit either of us. Anita knows exactly how much money she has in her wallet. So much so that she often asks for $5 or $10 so she doesn’t have to break a $50 bill.

I always know what’s in my wallet – I count the cash at least once daily, especially after the wife lightens my money load.

Greg Melikov is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of his work here .