We’ve all done it – left your wallet at home and you’re in a dire need for money, groceries, gas, etc.  How do you get by if you can’t get your wallet with your ID in short order?

I was thinking about this problem and thought of a simple solution.  Go to a merchant that accepts Apple Pay and sells general gift cards.  A place like Walgreens sells gift cards for restaurants, gas stations and other merchants.  They even sell Visa and MasterCard gift cards (with an activation fee).  Walgreens also typically sells transit passes for buses and trains.

This may not help you immediately when you’re in line at the grocery store with a cart full of groceries.  But, if you’re stranded away from home and have an immediate need, this is a possible solution.

I’d also suggest putting a high-resolution scanned image of your ID and Passport into a safe application like 1Password.