4 Places where you can find unclaimed money

Collaborative Post

In the quest to build your wealth, no stone should be left unturned. However, many people are sitting on what could potentially be thousands of rands/dollars of unclaimed cash! \

Here are some of the most fruitful sources of unclaimed money you might want to check out if you think you could be owed a sum.

1. Your taxes

It’s really very common for individuals to pay more income tax to the taxman than they were supposed to; when we submit our taxes, we can actually get a tax refund. I know SARS (South African Revenue Services) and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service in the USA) are pretty good at getting those overpayments back to the public, if you have recently moved or changed your bank account, your refund could be lost.

So, if you’re in the US and think you may be due a check from the IRS, be sure to check out the IRS Where's My Refund site. You will only have 3 years from filing to reclaim any excess, so the sooner you do this the better.

2. Personal injury claims

Have you had an accident or injury in the past that was not your fault? If you didn’t make a legal claim against the person(s) responsible for said injuries, then you could be entitled to compensation.

If you’re in South Africa, your vehicle or motorcycle accident lawyer can help you claim from the RAF (Road Accident Fund).

If you’re in the USA, you can get in touch with leading injury lawyers to make a claim.

Personal injury claims can run into tends of thousands of rands or dollars, so if you think you may have a case, it makes sense to pursue it.

3. Retirement/pension plans

If you’ve ever changed jobs and if you have ever had retirement/pension plans connected to any of those jobs, it’s always worth checking whether you have forgotten about any of those plans because they can be worth quite a bit of money depending on how much you or your employer paid in.

Actually my financial advisor recently asked me about a pension fund I had with my previous employer, 6 years ago. Neither one of us can remember if I took my pension fund. Wild, I know. But we will sort this out soon because wow.

4. Credit card rewards

I still don’t own a credit card but if you’ve ever owned a credit card that offered you financial rewards or rewards in lieu such as Airmiles, then it is also worth checking out whether the companies concerned have delivered everything you are due. Many credit card companies are not exactly great at coming forward with the promised benefits, so check your statements and consider making a phone call if you think you are owed something.

As you can see, there are lots of potential sources of unclaimed money that can help you build your wealth.

Do you have any other places where you can find unexpected money?

Share in the comments section below.