Everyone forgets little things here and there. As time passes, it might just fall by the wayside and you’ll move on. However, in some cases, this might involve some money you’ve got hidden away, but you’ve long since forgotten about it. Or maybe you didn’t even know there was anything you could do about it in the first place. This advice is here to help you find the money you didn’t even know you were missing.
Class Action Lawsuits
In some cases, benefiting from a class action lawsuit doesn’t require any actual input from you, which can lead to an unexpected yet welcome surprise when a letter arrives informing you that you’re owed a certain amount of money.
However, this isn’t always the case, so it can be really helpful to stay vigilant and keep your eyes on what sort of class action lawsuits are currently taking place. For example, perhaps you’ve purchased a product that turned out to be extremely faulty. It might be easy to brush it off as a one-off occurrence and move on.
However, it might be a problem that a significant amount of other people across the country had experienced as well, which would suggest a serious and large scale manufacturer defect. In these cases, a class action lawsuit would hold the company to account, and provide some financial restitution to members of the public.
Similarly, you might have had a medical procedure that led to some severe, unexpected side effects that aren’t considered normal. In situations like this, you might look at medical lawsuits such as a medtronic class action lawsuit.
Consolidating Old Bank Accounts
Old bank accounts are often a surprising source of hidden money. One possibility could be that an institution you used to bank with had collapsed quite suddenly, meaning some or all of the money you held with them has been lost. If an old bank has collapsed, your first thought might be to assume that the money is lost and you have no recourse. However, depending on how recently the bank collapsed, you might still be in luck. Use the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s unclaimed funds checker to see if you’re still in luck.
Another possibility is that you’ve had multiple bank accounts in the past under different institutions, such as savings accounts opened for you or a family member when you were younger. You might also have opened accounts with banks that offered certain bonuses, such as a short term interest rate boost on savings. For situations like this, you might consider sending a letter to many of the banks in your local area, including your social security number and detailing that you’re looking for your unclaimed accounts. You should also consider using the services of the National Association Of Unclaimed Property Owners, who can help you track down unclaimed assets.
Recovering Old Retirement Funds
Similar to old bank accounts, it’s a distinct possibility that there may be some money hidden away with retirement plan providers from previous employers. This might especially be the case if you’ve had plenty of stepping stones in your career and changed jobs fairly frequently.
If you have switched jobs frequently and you are concerned that there’s money locked away, you might try getting in touch with the US Department of Labour, who could help you track down some of your money.
Spending some of your spare time thinking about where your money might be and putting in a little early effort tracking it down can really help to bring some extra income into your household.
*collaborative post
