Costco Connection - April 2008

Update

Current news for Costco members

To learn more about the complete suite of Costco services,
click on the “Services” link at costco.com or call 1-800-220-6000.

P ractical T ips

Service Update

Quick Start your

financial future

SHAREBUILDER ONLINE Investing has launched a new Quick Start tool to help Costco members commit to saving and investing. Whether you are looking to diversify your current financial plan or simply need help getting started with a stock investment account, Quick Start will help provide the direction.

Answering an online series of interactive questions will generate a recommended personal investment plan, including suggested types of accounts to open and what to invest in—stocks or money market funds.

The first question identifies your savings goal. Retirement, education and home purchase are included as responses. The direction of the survey is tailored to your goal.

Other questions address how easy you find saving, the dollar amount of monthly savings comfortable for you and how experienced an investor you are.

To learn more about ShareBuilder or to generate your personal investment plan, go to costco.com and enter “SB Quickstart” in the search box.

Refinancing home

or auto loans?

ShareBuilder Securities is a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC and a subsidiary of ING Bank, fsb. ShareBuilder is not affiliated with Costco.

IFYOU”RELOOKINGforwaystosavemoney by takingadvantageof betterratesortermson your home mortgage or auto loan, you can find good value through Costco Services.

articles that guide you to evaluate the total impact of refinancing, which should always include considering taxes and insurance.

For more information, go to costco.com and enter “Lending Tree” in the search box.

Mortgage trade-off: term vs. rate

When refinancing a home mortgage, make sure you look at all parameters affected by the new loan.

There is often an emphasis on how long it takes to recapture the cost of the new mortgage.

The old payment amount less the new payment amount gives you the amount to divide into the closing costs to determine the number of months until you break even.

But that simple calculation doesn’t take into consideration any change in the length of the loan, which could have you paying over a longer term. Likewise, picking a shorter term and higher monthly payments to pay off the mortgage faster would not be gauged by the break-even formula.

LendingTree offers Costco members a Web site with helpful calculators and reference

Know your auto loan rate?

In today’s market, it’s almost as common for auto loans to be refinanced as home mortgages.

Many car buyers make financing arrangements through the dealership where they purchased a car—a choice of convenience but not likely the best interest rate available.

An auto refinance loan can deliver better interest rates and lower monthly payments. The process involves a new lender paying off the old loan and the title being transferred to the new lender. Your payments then go to the new lender. Costco members will find very competitive rates through Capital One auto finance. To learn how much you might be able to save, go to costco.com and enter “auto loan” in the search box, or call toll-free 1-888-317-6121.

[Refinancing]
can deliver
better interest
rates and
lower monthly
payments.

Watch that transaction rate

APRIL IS WHEN Visa and MasterCard typically increase the interchange fee that credit-card processors pay to submit card transactions back to the issuing banks.

“With Costco’s credit-card-processing provider, NOVA, there are no hidden charges lumped in with the fee increase,” says Jay Smith, Costco service director, referring to a frequent practice in the industry. “You can be confident that NOVA adjusts for only the increase of the interchange fee.”

For more information or to sign up for credit-card processing, go to costco.com and enter “NOVA” in the search box, or call toll-free 1-888-605-2488 and refer to priority code 83115.