Plenty of us are sitting on a small fortune without even knowing it. Shown here is how you how you could find £9104.20 by looking in the right places.

Imagine how different life would have been for EuroMillions winners Nigel Page and Justine Laycock if they had forgotten to check their ticket worth £56 million.

If they had missed out on their windfall, however, they wouldn't have been the only ones. In fact, plenty of Brits fail to cash in on what's rightfully theirs every day.

We can't promise you £56 million but read on to see how you could find £9104.20 you didn't even know you had.

Is your money lying dormant?

You might not think it would be possible to forget about your bank account or pension. Worryingly, however, it's surprisingly easy to do.

We could lose the paperwork to a policy or simply forget about a childhood savings account. In other cases, people don't know what to do when their bank is taken over and changes its name.

After a significant period without any transactions, these accounts are classified as 'lost' or 'dormant'. Shockingly, the British Bankers' Association estimates there is £850 million lying unclaimed in UK bank accounts.

If you suspect you have unclaimed cash, it might be worth running a free search on mylostaccount to help you hunt down your missing money. Alternatively, you could run a search on the Unclaimed Assets Register for a fee of £25. This could help you find pensions, shares and life insurance policies. Be prepared to provide your current address and details of your past residences.

Found money: The average successful search on the Unclaimed Assets Register is worth £6000. With around one in 20 searches being successful, it could be worth a shot.

Are you missing out on state benefits?

You don't need to be unemployed to qualify for state benefits. Plenty of people on a low wage could get help with housing costs or qualify for tax credits. In fact, The Citizens Advice Bureau estimates that people fail to claim £16 billion in means-tested benefits every year.

This could be because they simply don't realise they could claim or else they are overwhelmed by all the paperwork they need to fill in.

If you think you could be entitled to state benefits, it's a good idea to visit the Directgov website.

Found money: Four out of five low-paid workers without children miss out on tax credits worth at least £38 a week - which equals £1976 in a year.

Could you get better deals on bills?

You could also boost your bank balance by shopping around for the best deal on household bills.

If you stay loyal to the same suppliers for your insurance and utility companies, you would probably be able to find a better price by looking elsewhere.

Many companies offer their best deals as an incentive to attract new customers. One of the easiest ways to shop around for a new suppler is with an online price comparison site.

Found money: Finding a new gas and electricity supplier could save you £430* a year. Shopping around for your home insurance policy could save you £122.03** and hunting down the best car insurance deal could cut costs by £126.17**. This all adds up to a grand total of £678.20.

Is there cash in your attic?

If your home is cluttered with items you no longer need, you shouldn't just head to your local tip.

Just because you don't want your child's old pram doesn't mean somebody else won't be able to make good use of it. It might be worth seeing how much you could make by selling everything you no longer need.

If you're an internet junkie, you could check out online auction sites such as eBay. Otherwise, you could always invest in a pitch at a local car boot sale.

Found money: According to eBay, the average house stores £450 worth of goods people no longer want - so it might be worth having a route around in your shed.

And don't forget to shelter your own money from the taxman …

By taking advantage of your tax-free Individual Savings account ISA allowance, you can avoid paying interest on a large chunk of your savings.

This government scheme is designed to encouraged Brits to start saving. From the new tax year in April, people will be able to invest as much as £10,200 each year before they start paying tax.

Top tips to make the most of your money

There are plenty of other ways that you could track down hidden money that aren't as easy to put a cash value on.

• If you need to get your hands on some extra cash, you might want to think about remortgaging your home. This could be a fantastic way to unlock some of the money invested in your property.
• Whenever you move house, it's a good idea to leave a forwarding address when you close down your council tax and utilities accounts. If you don't, you could miss out on any rebates due on the account.
• Always remember to redeem rewards points. Constantly accumulating points on reward credit cards and loyalty schemes won't do you much good if don't cash them in.
• Don't forget about your air miles. If you fly frequently you may well have accumulated quite a few of these. Next time you take a trip, see how much you could get off your flight by using your air miles.