Earn Quick Money: Finding Money

I used to love reading stories about people that had long forgotten aunts and uncles that willed them large amounts of money.  In the story, these people would go through crazy situations in their lives that could have been solved if they just had a little more money -- but they never had it.  So they would do all these crazy convolved stuff to find solutions to their problems.  But at the end of the story, someone always walked in with an announcement that they had a long, lost great-aunt  or great-uncle, who having no children of their own, willed them $1 million dollars like 10 years previous, but no one could find the hero/heroine of the story because they moved around a lot (or something of that matter).

Well, in this case fiction can become real-life!  Did you know that there are many places that you can go online,  put your name in a search box and find out if you have money coming to you?  It's almost as good as having a long-lost aunt or uncle.


Where did all these unclaimed funds come from?

• abandoned bank accounts
• stock holdings
• child support
• unclaimed life insurance payouts
• forgotten pension benefits
• un-cashed paychecks
• unclaimed refunds
• un-cashed cashier’s checks/money orders  
• Trust funds, escrow accounts  
• contents in safe deposit boxes
• savings bonds
• and, more

Tips to finding money:

1.  Check every state you've lived in - better yet, jot down every address you have ever had.
2.  Search every name you've ever had
3.  Check the name of your spouse and your children
4.  Check the name of any deceased relatives -- you may be the heir to any money that is unclaimed
4.  Sometimes they ask you for your SS#, make sure the webpage is secure (https://) should be in the URL box - this means a secure site.

If you find something connected to your name or social security number, you will have to fill out a official form (usually downloadable from the website you've visited) and have it notarized (which you can do very easily at any UPS or FedX Store).

Okay, so here are the places to look for money.  Take some time and look through every one of them.

The money finders:

National Association of Unclaimed Property
http://www.unclaimed.org/
A list of state governments in the United States and Canada that actively protects forgotten funds until claimed.

Unclaimed Money from the Government
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Government-Unclaimed-Money.shtml
Find unclaimed money from bank failures, matured savings bonds, pensions, mortgage refunds, and more. 

Treasury Hunt
http://www.treasurydirect.ogv/TH/BPDLogin?
Treasury Hunt tells you about savings bonds no longer earning interest. If you still have these savings bonds, cash or reinvest them so your money can start working for you again. This system only provides information on Series E bonds issued in 1974 and after and Series EE Bonds issued in 1980 and after.


MissingMoney.com
MissingMoney.com has the most updated information for the state and provincial offices, their websites with contact information and property listings. Searches and claiming are always FREE.

Old Pension Plans.com
www.pbgc.gov/wr/trusteed/plans.html
Search here for unclaimed pensions by the participant's or beneficiary's last name, the name of the company that provided the pension, or the state of the company's location.  

National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits
https://www.unclaimedretirementbenefits.com/NRSearchSSN.aspx
There are literally tens of thousands of cases of employees who were once participants in an employer sponsored retirement plan (i.e. 401(K) Plan, Profit Sharing Plan) that have since left their jobs but neglected to take their retirement money with them. In all cases this retirement plan money is a protected benefit and thus must be held by the employer until the former employee claims the funds. 

National Tax Payers Union
http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/does-irs-owe-you-money/
Almost 100,000 Americans are missing out on more than $150 million in tax refunds they're legally owed—are YOU one of them?

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Unclaimed Funds
http://www2.fdic.gov/funds/
The FDIC is appointed as Receiver and is responsible for the payment of insured deposits and the liquidation of the remaining assets. The database for this site contains unclaimed funds for either unclaimed insured deposits or for dividend checks issued which were undeliverable or never cashed.

Where's My Refund.com
http://www.irs.gov/Refunds/Where%27s-My-Refund-It%27s-Quick,-Easy,-and-Secure.
Use this tool to check on the status of your refund. It provides the most up-to-date information the IRS has, also find refunds from previous years!
 
You can find more information about by Googling these keywords "Unclaimed Property", "Missing Money", and "Unclaimed Money".  Now remember, it is never necessary to pay a fee or pay a finder to help you claim your money, all the information to claim you money is on the website!  Happy Hunting!


PERSPECTIVE: The quick money series on Telecommuting Millionaire? is to help you find funding so you can take your first steps to following your dreams.  After you read a few of my Quick Money articles, you will realize that Money is Everywhere. Don't use these quick money ideas, unless you understand that you are using these ideas  . . . not to pay off debt, not for extra salary, not for "fun money" . . . but as a stepping stone to financing the first steps of your dreams.  Dog-gone it, we are going to gain our financial freedom together! Read: Money is Everywhere to get the proper perspective.




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