Claim Your Money and Run! I-Cash Makes it Possible

I’d like to thank the Illinois Treasure’s Office for sponsoring the conversation on money, and recovering lost funds on the blog today. 

Have you ever been doing laundry or cleaning out pockets or purses and found a folded up twenty-dollar bill, or better yet, a fifty? If not, you keep track of money way better than I do, and maybe what I’m about to tell you won’t excite you as much as it should. With just a simple click of your mouse, and entry of your name and zip code, you could very well be on your way to claiming money that you have long forgotten about. Don’t believe me?  Listen up! 

If you live in Illinois, or have ever lived in Illinois, then you should REALLY head over to the Illinois Treasurer’s site to start the process of claiming your money! I signed on last month, and was pleasantly surprised to pick up a bit of extra cash for the holiday. This year, I decided to be a bit selfish, and apply what I’ve had sitting around to purchasing a new camera body for myself. I still have a bit of a way to go, but what I discovered was a nice start for the purchase! I put my name, and zip codes that I have lived in (between college and moving as a young lady, I’ve had quite a bit) and up popped several links to accounts that I had actually forgotten about. Most were from areas that I lived in during undergrad, and bank accounts that I forgot to close after my sister passed away because my brain cells were relegated to freaking out. All of my claims totaled a bit over $400, but it’s $400 closer than I was before checking the site. If your claim from each account is under $100 you can usually see the exact amount, but if it’s over $100 you won’t see that amount until you verify who you are. After verification,  the checks come in about four weeks. 

Because I’m married, I made sure to use both variations of my name, and if you’re searching, I would suggest you use both variations of yours if you are or have been married before. After finding all of the places that I’ve lived and names that I’ve had, I printed out my form, signed the paperwork to authenticate who I am, and then sent off for my cash. 

I was very surprised to read that the largest claim was $2.2 million in 2015. Can you imagine finding that you’ve got that much money in unclaimed assets? I can just imagine what I would do with it. Half would go into savings/investments/whatever my financial advisor suggests, and the rest would go to paying off the mortgage, student loans, setting up college funds, and traveling. Experiences people. Experiences over stuff. I’m not hard to please. 

If that isn’t enough to entice you, you should know that the average claim is $2,900, and with the ease of claiming your funds from accounts YOU opened, or from other assets, this is the 100 percent free and safe way to reclaim what’s yours. Did you know that under the current the law, Illinois is required to hold unclaimed funds until the legal owner shows up to claim them? No need to worry about the monies being dissolved or used by parties that aren’t supposed to use them! Currently there is $2.5 billion in unclaimed cash, 17 million unclaimed properties, and a SLEW of unclaimed stocks and bonds that are just waiting to be claimed and loved by their rightful owners. Don’t think that only individuals are the ones with missing money. Nonprofits and small businesses may have money out there too! Seriously, click HERE and see if you can end your year off a little brighter (and richer!)