Finding money that you didn’t know that you had is the greatest feeling in the world.  If you’re strapped on cash, or you’re just curious on how you can find it, I wanted to show you how you can search, and see if anyone owes you any money.

First, you need to understand where missing money comes from.  Missing money generally comes from unclaimed property.  Unclaimed property is going to include the following:

• Utility deposits
• Store refunds
• Stocks, Bonds, anything finance related
• Life insurance
• Check / Savings accounts
• Gift certificates
• Safe deposit boxes
• Court payments

These are generally the most common ones that will give you money.

How can I find this money?

• Check with your state: Each state is different, and they all have money search forms that you can use.  What you’ll want to do is Google “Your State + missing money” to see what comes up.  Most of these searches will be free, but they are going to be very basic.  If you do find out that money is owed to you, you can look on their site to see how you can claim it.
• Try MissingMoney.com: This is a site that charges, but you can do a standard free search.  It doesn’t hurt to try, but it’s up to you if you want to pay to see if you are owed money.  What you may find out is that you’re going to pay more than you might claim.
• Hire a firm: What you’ll find out is that many websites just have basic searches.  If you’re certain that there’s money out there for you, you can hire a firm to do the search for you.  Do a search for a firm in your area, and see if there’s anyone that would be able to help you out.

Missing money is out there for everyone.  Try these three tips, and see how much you find, or if there’s anything out there at all, you will be surprised!