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EPISODE 12 ~ FIND YOURS: Celebrities And Unclaimed Money: Which Celebrities Have Missing Money Waiting For Them?

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Honestly, I don’t give a flip about famous people. But I DO care about convincing YOU to conduct a search. So I wanted to show you just how common it is for people —including famous people, including you— to have unclaimed money out there waiting.

Let me tell you the actors I found unclaimed money for. Ladies first:
•Blake Lively is owed $484.
•Delta Dental owes Salma Hayek $75… She does have great teeth.
•Saoirse Ronan has a whopping 17 separate unclaimed money listings!

Now a couple of actor guys: Ben Affleck does have unclaimed money, Casey Affleck doesn’t.
You notice, I’ve chosen all actors with unusual names? That’s because it’s easier and faster to search for them.
Now, let’s give it up for some Musicians:

•Beyonce. I don’t even know her last name. I just typed in Beyonce and found something and I know it’s for her because it was music-related.
•Ed Sheeran. My friend Judy is in love with him. I’m not even sure who he is, but Bank of America does and owes him more than a hundred bucks.
•I even found money for Iggy Pop and I didn’t even know that was a real name.

Let’s do a hat trick for some athletes:
Golfer Ben Hogan. Baseball player Barry Bonds.
Football player Joe Montana. They’re all missing some money. And, finally, Politicians and I’ll go back and forth across the aisle even if they won’t. Buh dum dum!:

•Nancy Pelosi could collect 4 different unclaimed money accounts for a total of $1,426 and I know it’s her because the address was the Rayburn House office building.
•Vice President Mike Pence has missing money in his home state of Indiana.
You’d think they’d know where to find him. But they don’t even try.
•BarackObama: The former president has unclaimed money in FIVE different places. Maybe he’ll have time to collect it now. DC, FL, MS, PA, and TX, Barack.

Donald Trump: Like his homes, his missing money is in New York and Florida.
Some of it is from unredeemed gift certificates.

•And finally, Bergdorf Goodman and Verizon Wireless have unclaimed funds for Hillary Clinton, listed at her Chappaqua New York address.
Only a couple of famous people who I looked up did NOT have missing money out there. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators says 1 in 10 of us is owed unclaimed money. Based on the celebrities I searched for, the stat should be much higher than that. So do a search today and let me know if you find something big or something interesting. I’m looking for lucky people to interview on the show. The first place to search for unclaimed money is the free website MissingMoney.com and the second is unclaimed.org.

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EPISODE 10~ FIND YOURS: Unused Gift Cards: Regift yourself by finding unclaimed gift cards that were never spent

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I’ve been covering unclaimed money for years and whenever I searched for
myself I wouldn’t find anything. I always thought, that’s me, way too anal to lose track of any of my money! But it’s a good idea to check back every year or so
and I did just that when I was preparing to launch this podcast and talk about unclaimed money every week. Sure enough, I am owed unclaimed money from
ticketmaster gift certificates I purchased for somebody that they never used.
I’m super curious which one of my friends or family is so lame that they didn’t manage to go see a concert or a show —on me— with the gift card I gave them.

But, somebody missed out and now I can reclaim that money if I want. In fact, if my recipient now tries to use their gift card, they will find that it is no longer valid because the District of Columbia is holding the money for me.
Not every state requires merchants to turn over unused money from gift cards,
and some states only force them to do this if the gift card has an expiration date. I counted and about a quarter of states now seize gift card money as unclaimed money. Here is a link to the entire list of states that seize unused gift cards as unclaimed money.

Meanwhile, some advice: The only reason I can get my gift card money back is
that I bought the gift cards online, so Ticketmaster had my name and address. If you buy a gift card in a store, there may not be a record. However, most gift cards give you a way of registering the purchase online, which is also smart in the event of fraud, so you might want to take a couple of minutes and do that.

Sometimes recipients register themselves as the owners of gift cards and, in that case, recipients may be able to make a claim as well. But regardless, unused gift cards are yet another reason to search for unclaimed money. And, as always, the best places to check are MissingMoney.com and unclaimed.org. Again, .org. Let me know if you find anything and maybe I’ll interview you on Easy Money!

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EPISODE 9 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Find it for your school, charity, or church

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HEY, THINK OF THE BROWNIE POINTS YOU’LL BE EARNING WITH YOUR
TEACHER, FELLOW VOLUNTEERS OR MAYBE EVEN SOMEBODY MUCH HIGHER
UP, IF YOU FIND MISSING MONEY FOR YOUR SCHOOL, CHARITY OR CHURCH!
ALL YOU DO IS GO TO THE SAME TWO FREE SEARCH SITES I ALWAYS
RECOMMEND, MISSINGMONEY.COM AND UNCLAIMED.ORG, (YES, .ORG, NOT
.COM. Very important.) THEN EXPERIMENT WITH TYPING THE SCHOOL,
CHURCH OR CHARITY NAME IN IN VARIOUS WAYS. FOR EXAMPLE IF THE
SCHOOL IS CALLED DIXIE SCHOOL, TRY PUTTING DIXIE IN THE FIRST NAME
FIELD AND SCHOOL IN THE LAST NAME FIELD. IF YOU GET NOTHING, TRY
PUTTING BOTH NAMES IN THE LAST NAME FIELD OR FLIPPING THEM.
FOR CHURCHES, TRY PUTTING IN THE CHURCH’S FULL NAME, BUT IF
NOTHING POPS UP, TRY JUST PUTTING THE WORD “CHURCH” IN THE LAST
NAME FIELD. OR TRY BROAD TERMS THAT MIGHT BE IN YOUR CHURCH NAME
LIKE “EPISCOPAL” OR “PRESBYTERIAN.” OR TEMPLE.
SAME IDEA FOR CHARITIES, EXPERIMENT BY PUTTING ALL OR PART OF
THE CHARITY’S NAME INTO THE FIRST AND LAST NAME BOXES AND, IF AT
FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, MIX IT UP.
I PROMISE YOU THIS DOES WORK. FOR A GOOD MORNING AMERICA
SERIES, I MYSELF WAS INVOLVED IN RETURNING:
$10,000 WORTH OF UNCLAIMED MONEY TO A CHURCH IN NEENAH WISCONSIN.
$59-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO AN ANIMAL SHELTER IN MADISON, WISCONSIN.
$109-THOUSANDS DOLLARS TO A BOYS AND GIRLS HOME IN MISSISSIPPI.
AND $229-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, ENTITIES LIKE THIS OFTEN HAVE EVEN MORE
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS THAN WE AS INDIVIDUALS DO, AND MORE DIFFERENT
PEOPLE MANAGING THEM, SO IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT SOMETIMES
MONEY WOULD GO MISSING. MAKE SOMEBODY’S DAY! CONDUCT A SEARCH
FOR YOUR SCHOOL, CHARITY OR CHURCH.

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EPISODE 8~ FIND YOURS: How To Find And Claim A Lost Pension

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I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO FIND LOST PENSION MONEY.

THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION IS THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK. THE PBGC IS AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY CREATED BY THE US GOVERNMENT TO INSURE PENSIONS AND PAY THEM IF THE COMPANIES BEHIND THEM FAIL. THE PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION HAS A SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF 38,000 PEOPLE WHO ARE OWED $300 MILLION DOLLARS IN PENSIONS. THE AGENCY SAYS IT OWES INDIVIDUALS AMOUNTS RANGING FROM 12 CENTS TO A MILLION DOLLARS. I WILL LINK YOU TO THE PBGC SEARCH PAGE FROM EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/08.

A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT NOTES: THE PBGC IS ONLY INVOLVED IN OLD FASHIONED PENSIONS, NOT 401KS OR PROFIT SHARING PLANS. AND IT ONLY COVERS THOSE EARNED AT PRIVATE COMPANIES. THE FIRST STEP, WHEN YOU GO TO THE AGENCY’S WEBSITE IS TO LOOK AT THE LIST OF COMPANY PENSION PLANS THE PBGC HAS TAKEN OVER AND SEE IF YOURS IS AMONG THEM. THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF DEFUNCT COMPANIES ON THE LIST, FROM CIRCUIT CITY, THE ELECTRONIC STORE CHAIN… TO LEHMAN BROTHERS, THE BIG FINANCIAL FIRM THAT TOPPLED DURING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS.

NEXT YOU SHOULD SEARCH YOUR OWN NAME ON THE PBGC SITE. OR IF YOU ARE THE BENEFICIARY OF SOMEONE LIKELY TO HAVE A LOST PENSION, SEARCH THEIR NAME. YOU DO THIS ON THE MAIN SEARCH PAGE UNDER “UNCLAIMED PENSIONS” AND, ONCE AGAIN, I WILL LINK YOU TO THE RIGHT SPOT. IF YOU FIND YOUR NAME, YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND FILL OUT A FORM TO BEGIN THE CLAIM PROCESS. YOU COULD BE RECEIVING CHECKS IN AS LITTLE AS TWO MONTHS.

IF YOU DON’T FIND YOUR MISSING PENSION, BUT FEEL SURE YOU HAVE ONE, THE PBGC HAS AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT HOW TO DO THE DETECTIVE WORK OF AN ADVANCED SEARCH AND I WILL ALSO LINK YOU TO THAT FROM EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/08.

I LOOKED IT UP AND IF YOUR PENSION WAS INSURED BY THE PBGC, YOU ARE GUARANTEED A PENSION OF BETWEEN 16-THOUSAND AND NEARLY 200- THOUSAND DOLLARS, DEPENDING WHAT AGE YOU WERE WHEN YOU LEFT THE COMPANY. SO IF YOU WERE EVER IN A PENSION PROGRAM AT ONE OF YOUR JOBS, THIS IS WORTH LOOKING INTO!

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EPISODE 7~ FIND YOURS: Check Different Versions of Your Name To Make Sure You Find Your UNCLAIMED Money

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AND NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR ‘FIND YOURS’ TOPIC FOR TODAY: NAMELY, HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU’VE FOUND ALL OF YOUR UNCLAIMED MONEY BY CHECKING EVERY POSSIBLE VERSION OF YOUR NAME. WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? THE SIMPLEST EXAMPLE IS MARRIED WOMEN WHO HAVE TAKEN THEIR HUSBAND’S NAME. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY UNDER THEIR MAIDEN NAME AND THEIR MARRIED NAME.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO LESS OBVIOUS NAME VARIATIONS TO SEARCH AS WELL. HERE’S A LIST OF THINGS TO TRY WHEN USING THE WEBSITES MISSINGMONEY.COM AND UNCLAIMED.ORG (NOTE, THAT’S .ORG) TO SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY:

NUMBER 1: SEARCH YOUR NAME BACKWARDS BECAUSE THE BUREAUCRATS WHO ENTERED IT COULD HAVE FLIPPED IT. SO, I WOULD SEARCH UNDER ELISABETH LEAMY, BUT ALSO UNDER LEAMY, ELISABETH.

NUMBER 2: SEARCH JUST YOUR LAST NAME AND DON’T PUT ANYTHING IN THE FIRST NAME FIELD. SOMETIMES FIRST NAMES GET LEFT OFF OF RECORDS. YOU’LL VERIFY IT’S YOU IF YOU’VE LIVED AT THE ADDRESS LISTED.

NUMBER 3: PUT JUST YOUR FIRST NAME IN THE LAST NAME FIELD AND SEE IF ANY OF THE LISTINGS MATCH AN ADDRESS WHERE YOU HAVE LIVED.

4, PUT YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME IN THE LAST NAME FIELD. IT MAKES SENSE TO TRY THIS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE GLITCHES THAT HAPPEN WHEN COMPUTERS MERGE SPREADSHEETS.

5TH, SEARCH COMMON MISSPELLINGS OF YOUR NAME. PEOPLE OFTEN THINK MY LAST NAME IS LEAHY INSTEAD OF LEAMY, FOR EXAMPLE.

6TH, SEARCH VARIATIONS ON YOUR NAME. LIKE IF YOUR NAME IS KATHERINE, YOU’LL WANT TO SEARCH KATHERINE WITH A K, CATHERINE WITH A C AND KATHRYN WITH A Y NEAR THE END. I’D THROW IN KATHLEEN TOO.

NUMBER 7: SEARCH FORMAL AND INFORMAL VERSIONS OF YOUR NAME, LIKE ELISABETH, LIZ, LIZZY AND BETH.

8. TRY DIFFERENT NAME PUNCTUATION: FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR NAME HAS AN APOSTROPHE IN IT, LIKE THE NAME O’NEILL, TRY ENTERING THE NAME WITH AND WITHOUT THE APOSTROPHE. AND IF YOUR NAME HAS A PREFIX LIKE MACARTHUR, TRY THAT ALL AS ONE WORD AND WITH A SPACE BETWEEN MAC AND ARTHUR.

9: PUT THE NAME OF BANKS AND BROKERAGE FIRMS WHERE YOU HAVE DONE BUSINESS IN THE LAST NAME SLOT BECAUSE SOMETIMES UNCLAIMED INVESTMENT OR RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ARE LISTED UNDER THE BANK OR BROKERAGE INSTEAD OF UNDER YOUR NAME. YOUR NAME MAY HAVE GOTTEN BUMPED DOWN TO THE ADDRESS FIELD IN THIS CASE.

AND 10TH AND FINAL TIP: PUT THE NAME OF COMPANIES WHERE YOU HAVE WORKED IN THE LAST NAME FIELD AND, AGAIN, LOOK FOR YOUR NAME IN THE ADDRESS FIELD. THIS CAN HAPPEN WITH MISPLACED 401K AND HEALTH INSURANCE MONEY.

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