With the economy in shambles and the holiday season in full swing, there are millions of Americans trying whatever they can to get their hands on a few extra dollars. Things cost more now than they ever have in history, and people are struggling just to keep their lights on, much less to afford gifts and gatherings. This is why so many are turning to unclaimed funds, hoping that the government has some money out there with their name on it. This is something that's a lot more common than you may realize. Missouri, for instance, is the latest state to come forward and claim that Missourians potentially have some money waiting for them. According to state officials, one in ten residents of Missouri have an average of $300 in "lost" money or property hanging around in a treasury office. This could be a stimulus check, and insurance rebate, a tax return, or a piece of property in their name.

Of course, if you read that news, it can be a bit of a misnomer. The way the government phrased it makes it seem as if one out of every ten people in the state has some cash waiting on them that totals around $300. In actuality, this is just averaged out based on two factors: (X) the number of total people averaged who are owed money, and (Y) the total amount of money owed divided across that 10%. In other words, it could be one single person with $3,000 owed, and that would account for ten people with Missouri's math. The reason they phrase it like this (1 in 10, $300) is to entice more people to check in with the state.

The issue is that states are now being held accountable for losing billions in CARES Act money from the COVID pandemic, and the federal government is really putting pressure on individual states to do an honest accounting of everything they're holding. This means that treasury offices in states really want to do some spring cleaning, so to speak, by ensuring that all the money and property they're holding is claimed by state residents so that the treasury officials do not have to claim it to the federal government. It will take them a lot of time and effort, and it's easier to have you come in and claim what's yours.

That being said, it's still a great idea to check. You may very well have a stimulus check waiting, or grant money you never knew was approved, or even some inheritance from a relative that no one ever told you about. You cannot possibly know unless you check for yourself. It's very easy to do. There's no guarantee that anything will be found in your name, but it's a simple process to contact the treasury office to have them check for you.
 

Checking with Your Particular State

You do not have to live in Missouri to check to see if there are any unclaimed funds in your name. Every state in America has a treasury office, and every state has the same sort of baseline policy on cataloging these sorts of funds and properties rather than contacting you directly. You will find news about unclaimed property from states like Virginia, New York, and many others. You don't have to do anything beyond contacting your state's treasury department to check on this information. You never know when there's some money just sitting there that could come in handy this holiday season.

Just be very careful when you're seeking out unclaimed funds via other methods. For instance, a lot of online locations want a lot of information from you, and they may even want you to pay in some money to unlock the supposed funds in your name. In other words, the service will tell you that they've found X amount of dollars in your name, but then they'll ask for $20 from your debit card in order to show you the information. These sites are scams and should be avoided. It's free to check with the government treasury office of your state, and they're not going to involve you in some scam/

If you want to check up on your state's treasury office, now is the time to do it. If you wait, things will likely never get processed in time for you to spend the money for the holiday season. It should only take a few minutes out of your day to contact the state office.