Some of your money may be sitting in a state you used to live in, and it’s free to check.
Your Daily Dad Joke
What did the clock do when it was hungry?
It went back four seconds.
Money you left behind
Moving leaves a trail. A last paycheck mailed to the old apartment. A utility deposit nobody refunded. A bank account with forty dollars in it that you forgot you opened. A refund check that came back as undeliverable.
Over the years, I’ve found about $4,000 of my own money that way. Money that was mine, sitting in a state office, waiting for me to ask for it.
That’s why I wanted to pass this along.
You may have seen a story out of Indiana about who has unclaimed money there. NBA legend Reggie Miller. Former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Even Indiana’s attorney general, Todd Rokita, who the reporter found had $151.32 in refunds and donations he never claimed.
And this morning, Rokita’s office announced a record: nearly $90 million returned this year, with “nearly a billion dollars” still waiting to be claimed on Indiana’s search site.
So is any of it yours?
Maybe. It isn’t only Indiana. State governments hold most unclaimed money, and every state keeps its own list. Indiana’s office lists the usual suspects: forgotten bank accounts, uncashed wages, refunds, insurance money, utility deposits, and overpayments on things like a credit card or cell phone bill.
The part people miss is the old address. The money usually goes to the state where the business last had your address, not where you live now. That’s why the government’s own advice is to check every state you’ve lived in.
I know. A few dollars from an old gas bill doesn’t sound worth the trouble. But it’s yours, and sometimes it’s a lot more than a few dollars.
Here’s the one thing I’d do this week. Search your name, and any old last names, on each state’s unclaimed property site. This directory links to every one. It’s free and it takes a few minutes. You don’t need to pay anyone to help you do this. Most of the people who offer to do it for a fee aren’t doing you any favors, and plenty of them are scams.
Damon and I talked about this on the podcast last week, too.
Anyway, I wanted you to hear it from me. Some states do go looking for people, but mostly this money just sits there until you ask for it.
Have you ever found money with your name on it in one of these state lists? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.
Not every money story starts with a bill. Some of them start with something that was yours all along, waiting for you to look. I’ll see you tomorrow.
— Steve
Also on the site since yesterday: shopping around for a car loan, and what it really does to your credit, and thinking of dropping Medicare Advantage when open enrollment starts October 15? Get the Medigap answer in writing first.
SEE A SCAM? SAY SOMETHING. If one has landed on you or someone you love, tell me at tips@getoutofdebt.org. The ones that can warn other people may show up here. Leave out account numbers and passwords.
If any of this was new to you, somebody you know hasn’t heard it either. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.
This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.