A Real Treasure Hunt for Lost Cash

There is a way to perhaps find some lost money you are owed.  This is serious here… give it a shot. 

As a part of each state’s Department of Treasury, there is a place where you can search to see if there is money you are are owed.  There is NO fee for doing this.  Tennessee even sets up at public events to help people search. 

 

From the TN Dept of Treasury web site: 

What is unclaimed property? 

If banks, credit unions, utilities companies, governments, or other organizations owe you money—and cannot locate you—then you may have unclaimed property.  Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler's checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), contents of safe deposit boxes, and more.  Generally speaking in Tennessee unclaimed property is intangible (ex. un-cashed paychecks, savings accounts) or tangible property (ex. safe deposit box contents), in which there has been no activity generated or contact with the owner for a one-year or longer period—at which point, it becomes unclaimed or "abandoned". 

Here is how to check for yourself: 

Google "unclaimed property" with the name of the state you live in behind that (and if you have lived in other states do the same for each of them).  Go to the web site and follow the instructions on how to do your search.  Each state's web site is very close to being the same but there are some differences.  You'll 'make a claim', send it in, and in a few weeks a check will arrive in your mailbox (or maybe several checks... can't figure out how they split out the payments...). 

When I searched for Himself and me, there was a nice little chunk of change owed to us.  I told folks in a group I'm in about this and one woman was thrilled to tell me she was getting back $1200.  Better yet, one person from TN found she was owed $13,466!  The Tennessee site states that "1 in 10" people in the state are owed money.

Good luck searching!