Virtually all men I know, including myself, carry three items: wallet, phone, keys. I place each in different pockets, so that while walking, each can be subconsciously felt – the absence of one of these items is immediately detected because it “just doesn’t feel right”.
The difficulty for women, I think, is that women usually feel the need to carry much more – snacks, first aid, makeup. I don’t think it’s possible to store that much on your person without a purse. For social occasions I carry a pack of gum or mints in my jacket or coat pocket.
As for change management, I always try to give exact change within a quarter. For example, if the price is $3.33, I’ll give $4.08 or $5.08 or $20.08. If you follow this rule, you will never have more than 25 cents worth of change in coins other than quarters, which easily fits in the change pouch of even small wallets.
