Find Money From Old Accounts You Forgot About

Ever have an bank account you forgot about? Or an old Health Savings Account that you didn't flip when your employer changed services? Would you even remember if you did have money sitting in an account you forgot about? Well, here's how you can find money from old accounts you forgot about.

As it turns out, the state of New Jersey has a tool that connects you to a giant database of old, dormant accounts and properties that might just be in your name. The state has an easy website that has a simple system for accessing the information you need to see if there's anything of valuable hanging in your name.

The url of the search page for lost or forgotten accounts is https://www.nj.gov/treasury/unclaimed-property/

If you visit that site you can try to find money from old accounts that you may have forgotten about. This exact thing happened to me a long time ago. A previous employer had changed the financial partner for the employee Health Savings Account (HSA). I was contributing a small amount of every paycheck to that HSA account. When the financial partner changed, my contributions changed to a new company but the money wasn't automatically transferred.

A tool like this website didn't exist back then when I needed it. I had to jump through all kinds of hoops and dig through all kinds of old documents to find the trail of the money that was sitting in an unused HSA account that was in my name. A tool like this may have saved me a lot of aggravation.

What really stunk about the whole situation is that the old financial company was charging me monthly maintenance fees on that unused HSA. That company was basically just draining the account month by month. I felt pretty stupid about that whole thing to be honest with you.

Here's a video they made that may help you with the process:

I wish I had this financial advice back then. For more interesting financial ideas, check out the ideas below.

If you have some money wasting away in a savings account that doesn't have interest, then you might want to consider making your money grow with low-risk investments. Financial experts say that certain low-risk investments can really help pad your savings.

Before we get into the best low-risk investments, let's look at what exactly is a low-risk investment. The official definition is basically what you would expect from the definition of a low-risk investment. According to the financial experts at Capital.com, it's "an investment where there is perceived to be just a slight chance of losing some or all of your money. Low risk investments offer you a security blanket as they’re not likely to suddenly drop in value."

In contrast, according to Investopedia.com, "A high-risk investment is one for which there is either a large percentage chance of loss of capital or under-performance—or a relatively high chance of a devastating loss." They add that, "The first of these is intuitive, if subjective: If you were told there’s a 50/50 chance that your investment will earn your expected return, you may find that quite risky." So, for example, a 50/50 risk might not seem risky to some, but it might seem risky to others. An investment with a 99% risk will obviously seem risky to everyone. But, with high-risk investments come big payouts, so that's what lures people in. For example, a separate article from Investopedia.com states that some high-risk investments can double your money. That's obviously a much bigger return than you would see in your average investment. As they state, "Make no mistake, there is no guaranteed way to double your money with any investment. But there are plenty of examples of investments that doubled or more in a short period of time."

So, if you're interested in making a ton of money, or losing it all, high-risk investments such as investing in foreign emerging markets may be of interest to you. "A country experiencing a growing economy can be an ideal investment opportunity," experts at Investopedia.com state. "Investors can buy government bonds, stocks, or sectors with that country experiencing hyper-growth or ETFs that represent a growing sector of stocks." They add "spurts in economic growth in countries are rare events that, though risky, can provide investors with a slew of brand new companies to invest in to bolster personal portfolios."

Now, let's move onto some low-risk investments for those who don't want to risk losing their money. Of course, talk to your financial advisor before making any of these moves.

You've probably heard of CDs being low-risk investments. Fidelity.com explains that "CDs provide reliable, fixed-rate returns on a lump sum of money over a fixed period of time, such as six months, one year, or five years." They add that the great thing is that if you "get a traditional CD at a bank or credit union where they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Association (NCUA)." Usually, CDs have a minimum deposit, and you’ll have to pay a penalty if you take your money out too soon.

High-yield savings accounts are like your regular savings account, but they earn more interest. "You can use these accounts for long-term savings goals or to hold extra money from your checking account," CreditKarma.com states. "For example, if you want to start saving for a house or building up an emergency fund, this could be a great option."

Forbes.com says that right now, the risk level for U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds is "very low." They add that, "U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Historically, the U.S. has always paid its debts, which helps to ensure that Treasurys are the lowest-risk investments you can own."

Fidelity.com states that, "Money market funds are mutual funds that invest in short-term, low-risk assets like Treasury and government securities, commercial paper, or municipal debt—depending on the focus of the fund." They add that, "Because their underlying investments are typically high quality, they are generally less volatile than other types of mutual funds, such as stock funds."

Fixed annuities are a pretty safe bet. As Forbes.com explains, "Fixed annuities are a popular type of annuity contract that are frequently used for retirement planning, but can also be useful for medium-term financial goals." They add that, "Sold by insurance companies and financial services companies, a fixed annuity guarantees a fixed rate of return over a set period of time, regardless of market conditions."

People talk about stepping outside of their comfort zone in life, but really, investing isn't a place to do this. You know how much money you have to "play" with, so if you're worried about putting too much money in the market, these low-risk investments could still help you make money on your money.