Have you ever been sitting in the kitchen, looking at your bank account, and wishing you could suddenly find some extra money to bolster it with? You may be able to by simply searching for unclaimed funds.
Unfortunately, many people either don't know how to check, or don't bother taking the time.
But one man says it is well worth it.
Musician decides to look up his name
Michael Horrigan is a guitar teacher who used to play in several bands.
He heard reports about unclaimed funds, so on a whim, he says, "We went to the missing money site, and we put the information in."
In a few seconds, Horrigan says, the site alerted him, "You have qualified! It's your money." He filled in his information to confirm he was the intended recipient and ended up with four checks totaling more than $600.
"$642, I think," he said. "It's a lot of money."
They were royalty checks for several TV appearances he did about 15 years ago.
"We were on Conan O'Brien," he said. "We did a song called 'Spit it Out.'"
Chances are you haven't performed on national TV like Horrigan, but there's a good chance you have unclaimed funds, too.
Why you may have unclaimed money
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators says one in seven people have unclaimed money from uncashed checks, overpayments or utility deposits.
Association President Carmen Pigler says the most common reason is a change of address.
"Businesses and financial institutions that we have relationships or bank accounts with lose track of us," she explained.
Other reasons for money ending up in unclaimed funds include:
- Inactive accounts
- A company going out of business
- The death of a relative
Pigler recommends you check for unclaimed funds at least once a year using your state's official unclaimed property website, or MissingMoney.com.
"Missing Money aggregates all the unclaimed property websites from across the country," Pigler said.
Not everyone finds $600, or even $50, of course.
We found one claim from Apple, for instance, worth just 81 cents. That may not even be worth the time to apply for.
Still, Horrigan says it's worth checking out.
"If you have something, it could be your lucky day," he said.
And if you find something, like Horrigan, you won't be playing the blues.
That way you don't waste your money.
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