Proverbial Wallets

Financial sixth sense
The brain trust at MIT has hit on a simple way to solve the credit crisis ... a wallet that resists you when you can’t resist diving into it.

They have engineered a bossy billfold that will make it hard for you to make the purchase. The “Proverbial Wallet” comes in three styles of smart wallets that link your bank account’s bottom line to your billfold via your cellphone’s Bluetooth feature. The result is a cash carrier that’s smart enough to know when you can’t afford a purchase and brassy enough to let you know, too.

The “Mother Bear” — the most marketable of the trio — operates on a sort of bear trap model. It syncs up with a monthly budget that you preset. The less money in your account, the tighter that wallet clamps down. The “Peacock” style connects to your assets, and inflates and deflates based on your worth an the “Bumblebee” buzzes with each transaction, with a tiny buzz for a cup of coffee and a longer, stronger blast for the new Porsche.

All three “Proverbial” prototypes, all leather, are at the lab in Cambridge undergoing updates and facelifts before they can be marketed and sold. Get more information about the Wallets here.