Could You Be Passing Up Your Own Free Money?

Money is tight for everyone. But, could there be fortunes waiting for you that you don't know about?

Can you think of a gift card or savings bond you didn't cash in? If so you could have unclaimed money waiting for you.

In Missouri, only 50 percent of the unclaimed property ever gets collected. We found unclaimed cash for an NBC Action News photographer with a few clicks of the mouse.

Sometimes that unclaimed cash is stock dividends, utility deposits, escrow, cds, insurance policies or even unused gift cards. If there's money left on a gift card, it's supposed to be handed over to the state after five years.

But, there are lots of loopholes around this. It's still worth a check to see at your state treasurer's Web site. In Missouri click on http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/mainUCP.asp and Kansas http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/index.php or http://missingmoney.com/ to see if an unclaimed treasure is waiting for you.

If nothing turns up there, you may want to try http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Money_Owed.shtml. This links you to specific sites for specific types of unclaimed money like lost tax payments, money from banks or credit unions, or even your home loan.

If you have an FHA insured mortgage and paid it off within a certain amount of time, you may be eligible for a refund of your mortgage insurance. http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/comp/refunds/index.cfm

When it comes to savings bonds, http://treasuryhunt.gov/. Every year more than 15,000 savings bonds are returned as undeliverable.

Others have stopped earning interest but haven't been cashed. Treasury Hunt does the work for you - showing you mature bonds.

But, be warned - you have to enter your social security. And my favorite site - that will preventatively save you money is annualcreditreport.com.

Once a year, you can get a free credit report. They are filled with wrong information, so get rid of it before it costs you the next time you apply for a loan.

Never pay money to get your money. Companies often try to charge for this, but there are usually free government sponsored sites.