When you think about losing something, you normally imagine a singular item; 📱 phone on the bus, 🔑 keys that have fallen out of your pocket or 💧 water bottle on the train. But, have you ever considered the cost of your entire bag becoming lost property?
It doesn’t happen often, but losing your bag can be panic-inducing and if you don’t get it back, costly! Like that sinking moment when you realise you don’t have your backpack and the bus is pulling out onto the road! 😬
We decided to ask some people what they had in their bag when they left home on an average day so we could add up the cost of replacing it all. What we found out was, well, rather shocking!
Dylan, Student - with two unis in the city we had to include a Bristol student
Bag - £70 | Wallet - £30 | Keys (halls of residence, home, bike lock) - £60 | Uni books - £80 | Water bottle - £10 | Phone charger - £10 | Airpods - £90 | Hat - £10 | Glasses - £170
Total - £520
Sarah, Part-time fitness instructor & full-time parent of 3
Nappies - £2 | Wipes - £1 | Milk - £2 | Bottle - £8 | Nappy bags - 50p | Spare clothes for baby - £8 | Bibs - £3 | Nappy cream - £6 | Dummy - £6 | Muslin cloths - £4 | Water bottle - £20 | Purse - £35 | Lipbalm - £8 | Phone - £600 | Nappy bag - £90 | Keys (housex2 and car) - £235
Total - £1028.50
Claire - Marketing Manager
Backpack - £70 | Purse - £28 | Phone - £300 | Keys (house, back door, car, office) - £125 | Laptop - £1300 (this would only be on a workday, but I often carry an iPad the rest of the time so still a big money item in there) | Waterproof jacket - £85 | Makeup - £53 | Jumper £15
Total - £1,976 - yikes
These totals obviously don't include the irreplaceable, sentimental items; like keyrings from holidays, much loved cuddly toys and memorable photos on phones. Those things are just gone and can be the most distressing to lose.
🔒 What to do if you loose your bag to add an extra layer of protection?
👀 Check the contents of your bag before you leave your house
Are you carrying a lot of unnecessary items? I am going to take the back door key off my housekeys and stop taking my iPad when I'm not going to even use it.
🧘♀️ Stay calm
These things happen, even to the most organised of people. It’s inconvenient, but you can get through it a lot faster and better if you keep calm.
💳 Cancel your cards
Even if you think you know where your bag is, it’s better to do this. With some banks like Barlcays, Monzo or Revolut, you can freeze your cards. They can't be used while you are looking for them. If you do find them, just unfreeze. That's such a great feature!
📸 Back up your photos to the cloud
Consider using something like Google Photos or iCloud to auto-upload your photos regularly. That way you can't lose them, even when you have lost your smartphone.
💜 Download Found
These gut-wrenching moments are what we're all about fixing at Found HQ. If you lose any valuable belongings you can register them via our app in just a few clicks. It's totally free and you can do it on the go through our app. If you tell us you've lost one or several of your valuables, we'll search our ever-expanding community of partners and members (like you) to find your lost property. If and when we do, we'll put you in touch with the finder to arrange collection or delivery back to you. And you get a lifetime membership to the community that protects. Neat huh?
If you lose your phone that's not a problem. You can borrow a friend’s phone to create a Found account or report it here.
Hopefully things won't come to this, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead and have at least your most valuable items like your phone registered.
