Chances are pretty good you've lost or forgotten about a gift card or two in your lifetime.

Maybe it only had a couple of bucks left on it- or it was for a service or store you had no interest in. Maybe it's still under a couch cushion.

And these lost and forgotten gift cards add up- to over 27 million dollars in Texas alone, according to WFAA News. That figure was from 2021, so you know it's only gone up since then.

According to Bankrate, 51% of Americans have reported losing a balance on a gift card for a variety of reasons- the card expired, the business closed, or they simply lost the card.

The average is a whopping $187 per person- or $23 billion nationwide.

So what happens to the balance when you don't buy?

In Texas, that money goes to the State:

In Texas, unredeemed balances are considered abandoned and become unclaimed property in the Texas Comptroller’s Office after the card expires or on the three-year anniversary of when it was issued, whichever comes first.

And that's where the $27 million figure comes from- the State knows how much it has. You can contact the comptroller to claim a balance, however, it may be difficult to prove since gift cards are not usually registered to you.

Other unclaimed property, like deposits, paychecks, insurance dividends, etc., can be searched for and usually claimed at claimittexas.gov.

So what's the solution? Don't wait too long to use your cards. Go ahead and buy the sweater/hamburger/massage and enjoy it while you can.