Wouldn’t it be cool to find random money that’s yours to keep?

No, it’s not a scam and the money is real. There are no gimmicks or tricks involved. In most cases, it’s as easy as typing your name and address online. The magic of technology will do all the work for you, and you don’t even have to pay a fee to do so.

So what’s the catch? None. It’s technically money you have but didn’t know existed. Try to think back as far as you can of all the different investments, bank accounts, jobs or even rebates you’ve applied for over the years. Life can get the better of us and we forget this stuff, so we end up actually leaving money behind.

It may not amount to much, but a few bucks here and there can certainly help your bottom line. It’s rare, but some have found thousands of dollars this way!

Alright, you’re probably itching to find if you have any money you didn’t know existed. So without further ado, here are some ways to claim lost money.

Unclaimed Stocks and Bonds

Sounds strange that you’d forget about the money you invested right? But if you have an old bond or stock certificate, you might still be able to get money from it even if it doesn’t trade under the same name anymore.

To find out more information, head over to the US Securities and Exchange (SEC) website.

Forgotten Bank Funds

The FDIC or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is responsible for any payment or insured deposits as well as any remaining assets that were liquidated. This is all to say that if you had an account or owned shares in a FDIC insured company that is no longer around, you can claim any money you’re owed. The money you might be owed includes unclaimed insured deposits and any qualifying dividends.

For more information, head over to the FDIC website.

Unclaimed Money from the Government

This is stupidly easy to do, so there’s no reason why you can’t enter your name and the state you’ve lived in (current or previous). MissingMoney.com is a database of government property records from the US and the Canadian government. This database includes uncashed checks or wages, utility deposits, and even safe deposit box contents.

Seriously, all you have to do is type in your name and state and look through to see if there might be unclaimed money you can get back now.

Pension Funds

It doesn’t matter if you worked for a company that went out of business, if you were offered retirement benefits, you might be able to claim your pension. All you have to do is head over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to see if your previous company is under their care.

Even More Government Money

If you have a U.S. Savings Bond in your possession, you might be sitting on a goldmine. If you’ve had one for 10 or more years, you might be surprised that they’ve matured and are just waiting for you to get your money from it.
There’s a reported amount of $16.3 billion of matured savings bonds that are still unclaimed. To find out if yours is one of them, check out Treasury Hunt which is part of the US Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

You might also want to head over to USA.gov to see if you have any unclaimed tax refunds. You just never know.