It’s funny how some things work out. I have written many columns and stories about holiday safety, including identity theft.

I guess that while I was writing those columns and stories, I forgot to pay attention to what I was saying. Now I’m not saying that because I got a bunch of information wrong. I’m saying that because over Christmas I either had my wallet stolen or I have misplaced it in a universe where all of the socks go when the dryer eats them.

I have spent a full week turning my home and car upside down looking for this stupid wallet, which contained all of important things I need on a daily basis.

I finally gave up and took the time to call all of my cardholders and my bank to cancel everything in my wallet.

I now know another reason why you should always keep up with your stuff. It’s not just because you might get your identity stolen or because you might lose some money. It’s because calling and canceling everything in your wallet, waiting on your new cards and checks to be mailed to you and then having to change your account numbers is really annoying and takes up a lot of time.

Now when people tell you to be careful with your personal information, know that not only do you have to worry about somebody stealing your identity, but you also have to worry about all of the prevention to keep someone from stealing that identity.

For some reason it always feels like the steps we take to prevent someone else from stealing our identity is a lot of work. You would think that it would be the people trying to steal identities that was having to work hard. With today’s technical advances though, it is so easy for someone to come into your life and mess things up even when you don’t know they are there.

I have now learned the life lesson of keeping up with your stuff. I wish everyone else good luck in that department.

– Ashley McCartney is a news writer for The Clanton Advertiser. Her column appears each Thursday. She can be reached at ashley.mccartney@clantonadvertiser.com.