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EPISODE 06~ FIND YOURS: Why You Should Search Cities and Counties for Unclaimed Money

Find unclaimed money with The Easy Money Show

HEADS UP, PEOPLE! YOUR CITY MAY HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR YOU! UP UNTIL NOW, I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT STATE UNCLAIMED MONEY FUNDS AND HOW TO FIND THOSE, BUT IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO OVERLOOK CITIES AND THE MONEY THEY SOMETIMES HOLD FOR THEIR CITIZENS. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS AT GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE CITY OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA WAS HOLDING A BUNCH OF UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR PEOPLE. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CITY HAD MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE FROM CITY CHECKS THAT WERE NEVER CASHED. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT PASADENA HAD DECIDED THAT IF PEOPLE DIDN’T CLAIM THE MONEY BY A CERTAIN DATE, THE CITY WAS GOING TO KEEP IT! SO MY PRODUCER AND I RUSHED TO CALIFORNIA TO TRY TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WE VISITED THE ADDRESSES ON THE CITY’S LIST AND FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE HAD MOVED, WHICH IS WHY THEY HAD NEVER GOTTEN THEIR CITY CHECKS. OTHER PEOPLE DIDN’T BELIEVE US WHEN WE FOUND THEM AND SHARED THE GOOD NEWS. STORY OF MY LIFE WITH UNCLAIMED MONEY.

PEOPLE THINK IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! WE LEARNED HOW LITTLE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO TO REUNITE PEOPLE WITH THEIR UNCLAIMED MONEY. IN THIS CASE, ONE OF THE RECIPIENTS OWED UNCLAIMED MONEY WAS THE PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, A FELLOW GOVERNMENT ENTITY THAT’S ONLY 16 BLOCKS FROM CITY HALL! BUT THE CITY HAD DONE NOTHING TO TELL THEM.

WE OURSELVES ALERTED PEOPLE TO MORE THAN 14-THOUSAND DOLLARS WAITING TO BE CLAIMED. THE OWNER OF A COMIC BOOK STORE HAD $270 DOLLARS COMING. THAT MAY NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH, BUT THINK HOW MANY COMIC BOOKS HE’D HAVE TO SELL TO MAKE THAT! WE FOUND A COUPLE WHO WERE OWED $1,750 DOLLARS IN REBATES FROM A RENTAL PROPERTY THEY OWNED. AND WE TRACKED DOWN A CONTRACTOR WHO PROBABLY OVERPAID FOR PERMITS AND WAS DUE MORE THAN 3-THOUSAND 3-HUNDRED DOLLARS! OFTEN CITIES TURN THEIR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY ACCOUNTS OVER TO THEIR STATES FOR SAFEKEEPING. BUT, AS THE PASADENA EXAMPLE SHOWS, THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AND THERE IS REAL MONEY OUT THERE BEING HELD BY CITIES.

I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD CHECK EVERY CITY THEY’VE EVER LIVED IN. BUT THERE’S EVEN MORE INCENTIVE TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN A CITY EMPLOYEE OR IF YOU HAVE EVER DONE BUSINESS WITH A CITY —LIKE THAT CONTRACTOR— OR BEEN SUBJECT TO A LOT OF TAX IN A CITY —LIKE THOSE LANDLORDS. THANKS TO THE INTERNET, IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TO SEARCH. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NOT A CENTRALIZED DATABASE OF CITY UNCLAIMED MONEY, SO I SUGGEST SEARCHING THE NAME OF THE CITY OR COUNTY AND THE WORDS “UNCLAIMED MONEY” OR “UNCLAIMED PROPERTY” OR “UNCASHED CHECKS.” GOOD LUCK!

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EPISODE 5~ FIND YOURS: Teenager finds unclaimed money, gives it to charity

Find unclaimed money with The Easy Money Show

HALEY, HOW DID YOU FIRST LEARN ABOUT UNCLAIMED MONEY?
I was 16 and in the kitchen with my Dad and I heard ad for find Mass Money. I had never heard about this before. I looked it up and saw there was over $2 billion in Massachusetts alone that was unclaimed.

SO YOU STARTED SEARCHING FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR PEOPLE YOU KNEW AND THEN FOR TOTAL STRANGERS. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND ON THIS AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING PART?
In terms of time I probably spend between 5 or 10 hours a week. I go online and search in Texas and California. They show the amounts of the claims so it is easier for me to reach out to people.
You can put in a name and search for individual or search for business or company. You have to enter it into a search bar. That is one tough part. Finding companies and individuals to search for. Started by looking up companies and non profits and charities and family and friends I know. It escalated from there.

GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE AND COMPANIES AND AMOUNTS YOU HAVE FOUND FOR THEM.
—I have found money for are Boston Global Village – a car company close to where I live. Amount:
— headsets.com. Amount:
—And family friend I found $6,000 for.
— One that was interesting to me was that I found a claim for $45,000 in Texas for a professor who now lives in Australia. Someone who doesn’t live in the US can also have unclaimed property and makes me think how many people don’t know they even have money.
— There are two others I identified recently – one for $130,000 and another for $240,000 – one was a financial company and for Xerox.
— A lot are life insurance. Checks sent to the wrong person or address so got lost. Utility bills.D

YOU HAVE TURNED THIS “WIN” INTO A “WIN-WIN.” EXPLAIN HOW YOU USE UNCLAIMED MONEY TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITY.
I was in a student organization working with a literacy charity and we were having a hard time raising money so I thought it would be a cool idea to see if I could start a charity based on unclaimed money. I was 17 when I incorporated the charity and got 501 c status. Found Money Charity.  
When I contact people and businesses I ask that if they collect the unclaimed funds I identify for them, that they either donate  to FMC (in which case FMC will, in turn, donate to the three charities it supports) or that they donate directly to the three charities FMC supports.
It means a lot to me. For a long time I have been connected to these organizations so it is exciting to raise money for them and know I can support them. Going off to college I want to keep this up.

HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE YOU RAISED SO FAR?
Found Money Charity helped Headsets.com collect approximately $9,000 in unclaimed funds in California.  Headsets.com then donated $1,000 directly to FMC – which FMC has divided evenly among the three charities. 
FMC identified $3,000 of unclaimed funds in Texas for Boston Volvo.  After Boston Volvo collected that money, it provided me with three checks – each for $500 made out to each of the three charities (Dana Farber, Cradles to Crayons and Brookline Literacy Partnership), and I delivered those to the three charities. 
Then Lishan Aklog (an individual) collected the $6,000 in unclaimed funds that FMC identified for him (in New York State).  He generously chose to donate all of that money by sending me three $2,000 checks to each of the three charities, which I then delivered to them. 
So the total FMC has raised is $8,500 so far – but I am hoping and expecting to raise substantially more relatively soon.

I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT IT CAN BE HARD TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT PEOPLE’S FOUND MONEY, BECAUSE THEY DON’T BELIEVE YOU! HAS THAT BEEN A CHALLENGE?
I think sometimes people don’t trust it. I don’t know if my emails go into spam folder. I think the process for collecting a claim can also be a really long process. Not that it takes too much effort. You submit forms state needs but can drag on for a few months and that may deter people.
If there is a big claim or someone who I recognize I try to find a way to contact them by email or letter. I write and introduce myself and tell them about the cause and what I am trying to do. I give them a screen shot but I know some might say it is a scam but I give them link and tell them to search and give them the link to my website.

YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 3 MILLION DOLLARS FOR PEOPLE. SO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. LET’S GIVE OUR LISTENERS SOME EXPERT TIPS FOR SEARCHING FOR THEIR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY. YOU SAY SEARCH EVEN IF YOU DON’T REMEMBER LOSING ANY MONEY.
Don’t think you shouldn’t search just because you don’t remember losing money. Could be electrical bills or cell phone carriers you just don’t know about.

YOUR SECOND TIP: LOOK UP ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS OF YOUR NAME.
Look up maiden names and common misspellings. I see that a lot. Also try putting your first name in the last name box and last name in the first name box. Finally try just using your last name.

THIRD: SEARCH IN STATES WHERE YOU USED TO LIVE.
Search in states where you used to live or went to college or moved or changed addresses. Also search in states where companies you have done business with are headquartered because sometimes unclaimed money is held where the company is located rather than where you are located.

FOURTH, YOU REMIND PEOPLE TO SEARCH THE NAMES OF LOVED ONES WHO HAVE DIED.
Also search for family members and for those who have passed away. I found a few like life insurance for people who passed away.

AND FINAL TIP, YOU POINT OUT THAT SOME CITIES AND TOWNS HAVE THEIR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY POTS, SO PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK INTO THAT TOO.
Some towns and cities have their own lists. Mostly I look at treasury lists from states but have found towns and cities that have their own list so look there too. Might be smaller amounts of money.

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Episode 4~ FIND YOURS: FIND YOUR UNCLAIMED MONEY BEINg HELD BY THE IRs.

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THERE ARE 2 DIFFERENT REASONS THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE COULD HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY OF YOURS. THE FIRST IS SIMPLE: UNDELIVERED TAX REFUNDS. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU FILED A TAX RETURN, YOU WERE DUE A REFUND, AND FOR SOME REASON THAT REFUND NEVER MADE IT TO YOU. MAYBE YOU MOVED, SO THE CHECK WAS RETURNED ADDRESS UNKNOWN. OR MAYBE THE POSTAL SERVICE MESSED UP.

THE STATS VARY, BUT IN ONE RECENT YEAR THE IRS WAS HOLDING ONTO $110 MILLION WORTH OF REFUND CHECKS THAT HAD BEEN RETURNED. THOSE CHECKS BELONGED TO MORE THAN 115-THOUSAND TAXPAYERS. THAT’S ABOUT $950 APIECE IF PEOPLE’S REFUNDS HAD ALL BEEN EQUAL!

IF YOU SUSPECT THAT YOUR REFUND HAS GONE ASTRAY, THE IRS HAS A TOOL ON ITS WEBSITE CALLED “WHERE’S MY REFUND?!” YOU ENTER YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF YOUR EXPECTED REFUND AND IF THE IRS HAS IT, YOUR NAME WILL POP UP. UNFORTUNATELY THIS SYSTEM ONLY TRACKS REFUNDS FOR THE MOST RECENT YEAR.

NOW, HERE’S THE OTHER WAY THE IRS COULD HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY FOR YOU: IF YOU WERE OWED A REFUND BUT DIDN’T BOTHER TO FILE A TAX RETURN! THIS IS INCREDIBLY COMMON! FOR EXAMPLE, A CHART ON THE IRS WEBSITE SHOWS THAT 95-THOUSAND CALIFORNIANS AND 96-THOUSAND TEXANS FAILED TO FILE EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE DUE REFUNDS IN A RECENT YEAR!

AND IT’S NOT JUST OVERPAID TAXES YOU COULD BE OWED. MANY MODERATE INCOME PEOPLE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. BUT IF YOU DON’T FILE A RETURN, YOU DON’T GET IT! THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT IS SUPPOSED TO HELP PEOPLE WHOSE INCOMES ARE BELOW CERTAIN THRESHOLDS. FOR EXAMPLE, FOR 2016, A WORKER WITH 2 CHILDREN WHO MADE A LITTLE UNDER $45-THOUSAND DOLLARS, WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT OF ABOUT $5,500!

NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING: UH OH, I DIDN’T FILE A TAX RETURN SO I’M GONNA GET IN TROUBLE! BUT YOU AREN’T! THERE’S NO PENALTY FOR FILING A LATE RETURN IF YOU WERE OWED A REFUND! WOO HOO! AND THAT MEANS THERE’S NO RISK IN FILING AND CLAIMING THE MONEY THAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS! ACTUALLY, THERE’S ONE RISK: IF YOU DON’T FILE WITHIN 3 YEARS, BY LAW THE IRS GETS TO KEEP THE MONEY! WHY SHOULD THE TAX MAN KEEP WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS?

OK, HOPEFULLY I’VE GOT YOUR ATTENTION. BUT I KNOW YOU MAY BE DRIVING OR RUNNING ON A TREADMILL OR SOMETHING WHILE YOU LISTEN TO THIS INTRIGUING INFORMATION, SO I HAVE COMPILED ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED.

HERE’S THE LINK TO CHECK FOR TAX REFUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN RETURNED UNDELIVERED.

AND HERE IS INFORMATION ON HOW TO FILE PAST TAX RETURNS SO YOU CAN GET YOUR REFUND AND ANY TAX CREDITS YOU DESERVE.

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Episode 3~ FIND YOURS: FIND YOUR UNCLAIMED MONEY AND OTHER VALUABLES ABANDONED IN FORGOTTEN SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES

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GOVERNMENT AGENCIES USUALLY REFER TO UNCLAIMED MONEY AS “UNCLAIMED PROPERTY” WHICH SOUNDS LIKE TOTAL BUREAUCRAT-SPEAK UNLESS YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES. SOMETIMES SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES CONTAIN MONEY, BUT OFTEN THEY CONTAIN PROPERTY SUCH AS JEWELRY.

IF YOU —OR YOUR FAMILY— HAVEN’T VISITED YOUR SAFE DEPOSIT BOX OR INTERACTED WITH IT IN ANY OTHER WAY THAT CREATES A PAPER TRAIL, THE STATE MAY FORCE THE BANK TO TURN IT OVER AS UNCLAIMED PROPERTY. STATES USED TO CONSIDER PROPERTY UNCLAIMED ONLY IF YOU HAD NOT BEEN HEARD FROM IN DECADES. BUT NOW AT LEAST 27 STATES HAVE A DORMANCY PERIOD OF JUST 3 YEARS.

THAT’S RIGHT. FAIL TO BE ACTIVE IN ANY TYPE OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNT FOR JUST 3 YEARS AND THE STATE COULD SCOOP IT UP. STATES BECAME THE GUARDIANS OF UNCLAIMED MONEY ON THE THEORY THAT THEY REPRESENTED THE PEOPLE AND WERE MORE TRUSTWORTHY THAN PRIVATE COMPANIES. BUT MANY STATES NOW BALANCE THEIR BUDGETS BY USING THE INTEREST EARNED ON THEIR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY POT —OR BY DIPPING INTO THE ACTUAL PRINCIPAL.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? IT MEANS YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF OFFICIAL INTERACTION WITH ALL OF YOUR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS ON AT LEAST AN ANNUAL BASIS. IN REGARD TO SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES SPECIFICALLY, WE SHOULD ALL LEAVE LISTS OF OUR ACCOUNTS FOR OUR HEIRS, IN CASE WE DIE UNEXPECTEDLY. A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX IS ONE OF THOSE THAT SHOULD BE LISTED.

THE REASON I’M HARPING ON THIS IS THAT THE CONTENTS OF SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN REGULAR BANK ACCOUNTS. NOW HERE’S THE THING. SAY YOUR GRANDPARENTS LEFT STOCK CERTIFICATES IN THEIR SAFE DEPOSIT BOX. IDEALLY YOU’D SELL THE STOCK WHEN THE VAUE IS HIGH. RIGHT? UNFORTUNATELY STATES OFTEN SELL STOCK AS SOON AS THEY RECEIVE IT, RATHER THAN WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNE TIME WHEN THE STOCK IS UP. STATES HAVE ALSO BEEN KNOWN TO AUCTION OFF PEOPLE’S PRECIOUS FAMILY JEWELRY FOR A FRACTION OF ITS COST, JUST TO CONVERT IT INTO CASH.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY FROM SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES, YOU GO ABOUT IT THE SAME WAY YOU DO OTHER TYPES OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. FIRST SEARCH MISSINGMONEY.COM, SINCE THAT SITE ALLOWS YOU TO SEARCH 40 STATES AT ONE. THEN USE UNCLAIMED.ORG (IMPORTANT, THAT’S .ORG) TO SEARCH SOME OR ALL OF THE OTHER 10 STATES INDIVIDUALLY. I’VE POSTED VIDEO TUTORIALS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF BOTH SITES. I ALSO CREATED A VIDEO TOUR OF SOME OF THE MOST COMMON TREASURES FOUND IN UNCLAIMED SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES. YOU CAN SEE THAT AT YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THOSE ON THE “FIND” PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE.

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Episode 2~ FIND YOURS: How to Search States Individually for Unclaimed Money

Find unclaimed money with The Easy Money Show

AS I TOLD YOU LAST EPISODE, IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES, YOU CAN SEARCH 40 DIFFERENT STATES FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY ON A WEBSITE CALLED MISSINGMONEY.COM. ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. IT’S EASY, IT’S FREE AND IT’S FUN! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING! I’VE POSTED INSTRUCTIONS AND EVEN A STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO AT EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/01 SO YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT IS AND TRY IT.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 10 STATES? YES, THERE ARE 10 STATES THAT HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO PARTICIPATE WITH MISSINGMONEY.COM. HOW DO YOU SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY THAT THEY MAY BE HOLDING? THOSE STATES ARE: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, South Carolina and Wyoming —SO SOME MAJOR places. I MEAN, CALIFORNIA HAS, BY FAR, THE BIGGEST POPULATION OF ANY STATE.

I TOLD MY NEIGHBOR SPENCER ABOUT UNCLAIMED.ORG, (.org not .com!!!) A WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN SEARCH STATES INDIVIDUALLY, KNOWING THAT, LIKE ME, HE’S A NATIVE CALIFORNIAN. AND, IN MINUTES HE FOUND A MYSTERIOUS ACCOUNT.

SPENCER:
“Then I remembered, in college I was pledging a fraternity. There was a fraternity brother who was selling life insurance… whole life insurance. So if you were gonna be a good Sig Ep, you know, you could buy this insurance policy.”

ELISABETH:
“How could you afford it though?”
SPENCER:
“Well, I was working at the time. I worked my way through college.”
ELISABETH:
“Doing what?”
SPENCER:
“Well I was a professional musician in Southern California.”

A MUSICIAN IN A BAND THAT OUTSOLD THE BEATLES ONE YEAR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!

SPENCER:
“And then, shall we say, it didn’t work out with the fraternity. If you didn’t have peanut butter under your armpits, you couldn’t be a brother. And I said, no, you’re not supposed to be doing hazing and they said, you’re out of here. (CUT EXTRANEOUS STUFF HERE) So I dropped the policy.”

BUT SINCE HE’D PAID ON THE POLICY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, IT HAD A CASH VALUE… AND ENDED UP AS UNCLAIMED MONEY.

SPENCER:
“$654.12!”
ELISABETH:
“Wow, this is good!”
SPENCER:
“This is great I feel like this money’s just rolling in like manna from heaven or something.”

ELISABETH:
“What are you gonna do with the money?”
SPENCER:
“Well, I’ve already spent it! I bought artwork for our house that I wouldn’t have bought otherwise and we’re gonna enjoy it for years to come, the result of you and this unclaimed property that we didn’t know was there.”

if you, LIKE SPENCER, HAVE lived in any of thE ten states THAT YOU HAVE TO SEARCH INDIVIDUALLY, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT. THOSE STATES AGAIN ARE: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, South Carolina and Wyoming.
but even if you haven’t LIVED IN ANY OF THOSE STATES, you may still want to SEARCH THEIR UNCLAIMED MONEY/UNCLAIMED PROPERTY DATABASE, reason being: unclaimed money is usually held in the citizen’s state of residence, but not always! sometimes it’s held where the bank or other financial firm is based. and corporations can be based almost anywhere. hello, delaware! IT’S one of the 10, and it’s OFTEN called the “corporate capital of the world!”
OK, SO HOPEFULLY I’VE CONVINCED YOU THAT YOU SHOULD SEARCH. NOW WHERE DO YOU SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY HELD BY THESE 10 STATES? FORTUNATELY, THERE IS A SINGLE WEBSITE THAT ACTS AS A PORTAL TO ALL OF THEM AND THAT WEBSITE IS UNCLAIMED.ORG. PLEASE PEOPLE! TAKE NOTE THAT THAT’S DOT ORG, NOT DOT COM OR YOU WILL END UP ON A PAY SITE THAT CHARGES YOU MONEY TO SEARCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO PAY TO SEARCH FOR YOUR OWN UNCLAIMED MONEY. IF YOU FIND SOMETHING, LET ME KNOW! I’D LOVE TO FEATURE YOU ON THE SHOW!

AND JUST TO PROVE TO YOU HOW EASY IT IS TO SEARCH STATES INDIVIDUALLY FOR UNCLAIMED MONEY, I MADE THAT THE SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK’S VIDEO EDITION. I WILL SHOW YOU, STEP BY STEP, HOW TO USE UNCLAIMED.ORG. I WANT TO EMPOWER YOU AND I KNOW MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME, LEARN BEST THROUGH VISUALS. JUST GO TO EASYMONEYSHOW.COM/02 FOR THAT.

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