What’s in Your Handbag?

This post is a little different from normal. MoneySupermarket are holding a competition for bloggers – the opportunity to win a Mulberry handbag and purse – all we have to do is reveal our handbags’ contents, and tot up what they cost.

I wonder if they’re doing something like this for the chaps? But given I don’t think I’ve ever owned a designer bag, I’m not going to throw away the opportunity to win one.

 

My handbag

 

I’m a charity shop lover and this cost me the princely sum of £4.99 from the British Heart Foundation shop in Stretford Mall. I used to own a second hand Wonder Woman bag, but after many mends, the bag strap broke for the final time. This bag is my replacement and cost me about the same!

 

My purse

Bought in the Debenhams sale for £12, this cost more than my bag, but as ever, the contents are much more important. Bank cards, loyalty cards and plain old cash worth much more than the purse itself.

 

Travel card/Gym pass/Work ID

 

I use these every day, so they’re essential. I go to the gym 5-7 times a week and I know that to replace this would cost £10 (ignoring my actual monthly membership fees).

As I don’t drive, my bus pass is essential – but I know that this doesn’t cost anything to replace.

And my staff ID is £10 to replace.

 

Pens/Pencils

Being a  blogger, you occasionally have to make notes. I’m a big fan of the Pilot Frixion pens, which are erasable and cost £6.00 for a pack of 3. But as anyone who works in an office will tell you, you collect pens from all over. So most of these are freebies.

 

Notepad

 

Does exactly what it says on the tin, as they say…. full of my scribbles, and £1.49 from Sainsbury’s.

 

Hairbrush/Mirror

 

This little beauty from Denman was a crafty spend, costing me a whopping £2.79. It takes up the space of one, but with the uses of two. Bargain.

 

Perfume

 

My favourite perfume is Agent Provocateur, but if you’ve seen the bottle, it’s pretty hefty. And I do buy the 100ml bottle that costs £68.50 – a little big to cart around. So I found this, care of Ebay for £4.99. You decant some perfume into it (it takes around 3ml) and you can avoid the need lug a big bottle around.

 

Umbrella

 

I live in Manchester and to not have a brolly would be just asking for trouble. So this cost me £6.99 as a last minute buy when my last one broke.

 

Paracetamol

 

Just in case. £0.19

 

Mobile Phone

 

Considering I’m an 80s (Well, ok, late 70s) and grew up without phones, it seems crazy that I’d miss this more than my purse or keys, but I would. Inconvenience wise this would be the biggest cost. But it’s insured. Cost to replace? Around £200.

 

Camera

 

As a blogger, pretty essential. I don’t keep anything on the memory card and clear it once I’ve uploaded, to inconvenience wise, I’d cope. Cost wise? Around £60.00.

 

Makeup

 

Oddly, not always in my bag – often in my desk at work! I keep the minimum on me at any time, so foundation, mascara, lippy and Lipcote. We’d be looking at around £30 for the contents of the bag.

 

Hair pins/band

 

I lose these all the time. Maybe £1 total for these!

 

Knitting 

 

I’ve usually got something crafty on me. And this project is small and portable! As it’s just made from scraps, the cost is really negligible as I’ve plenty of stuff at home to replace it.

 

Earphones

 

Skull Candy earphones bought on sale. They’ve been the most robust I’ve owned and I bought them from Sainsbury’s for £6.99,

 

Keys

 

Definitely the most inconvenient of the lot. And probably the most expensive. I’m going to estimate replaced locks, etc etc at a cost of £150.

 

The Total

Ok, so the grand total of my handbag’s contents is approximately £503.94. Roughly what I’d expect. The most costly things, unsurprisingly are my phone and keys.

But the contents of my purse and my phone are far more important than these. Especially those bits that hold sentimental value like photographs.

It’s interesting though, to work out the cost.

Tell me, how much is your bag worth?