COSTCO SERVICES
Update
Current news for Costco members
To learn more about our complete suite of Costco services,
click on the “Services” link at Costco.com or call toll-free 1-800-220-6000.
Investing
in today’s
market
Service Expansion
Insurance now in
Massachusetts
THE AUTO AND HOME insurance program is now available to Executive Members
in Massachusetts. Members in other states
report an annual average savings of $473 on
auto insurance when they switch to
Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance (see
article on page 61).
Along with big savings and excellent
service, qualifying Executive Members
receive lifetime renewability and roadside
assistance on their auto insurance, as well as
home glass-repair reimbursement and home
lockout assistance on their home insurance.
To learn more, call toll-free 1-888-
404-5365, or visit Costco.com and enter
“Auto Insurance” in the search box.
H OW TO HANDLE i nvesting during an
econ omic downturnisa commonconcern. Dan
Greenshields, president and CEO of ShareBuilder Corporation, shares with Costco
members five simple steps to minimize risk
and maximize gain.
Remain calm. Stock purchasing should
be seen as a marathon, not a sprint. Resist any
urge to pull your money out of the stock market and put it all in low-risk—thus, low-yield—investments. You can hedge against
massive losses by keeping a balanced portfolio. Your money can work for you to make up
ground you lost last year, but it can’t do that
sitting in a cookie jar.
Set up automatic savings. Make long-term savings as automatic as a monthly bill.
Pay $50, $100, $200—whatever you can manage—each and every month into your savings
or investment account.
Most employers allow you to automatically deposit a set amount to savings right
from your paycheck. You’ll hardly even notice
the difference in your paycheck, but you’ll be
awfully glad you did it later.
Research, then diversify. You aren’t going
to achieve investment success without wo rk-ing for it. There are plenty of newspapers a nd
newsletters you can subscribe to. The Inter net
is also an excellent tool to do stock research .
While just about every investor los t
money this past year, the people with well-diversified portfolios weren’t hit as hard.
Just as a healthy diet consists of foods from many different food groups, a healthy por t-folio consists of many different kinds of inv est-ments, including stocks, bonds and mon ey
market accounts.
Take advantage of retirement vehic les.
Many employers will match money you c on-tribute to your 401(k) retirement account . If
All services are provided by third parties, may not be available
in all areas and are subject to change without notice. Some
restrictions apply. See “Services” at Costco.com for
applicable terms and conditions.
you don”t already contribute to an account,
startnow.Do whateveryouneedtodotoearn
employer matching funds. It’s free money for
your retirement.
Additionally, there are tax incentives
for opening and maintaining Individual
Retirement Accounts (IRAs). With the Roth
IRA, for example, you contribute after-tax
money, but your retirement withdrawals are
tax-free, earnings and all. Be sure to talk to
your tax adviser.
Make investing a way of life. Set a good
example for your children by planning for
your future and theirs. Get them excited about
saving and investing. You’ll all be richer for it,
literally and figuratively.
For more information about investing
with ShareBuilder, go to Costco.com and
enter “online investing” in the search box, or
call toll-free 1-866-684-4568.
ShareBuilder is a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/
SIPC, and is not affiliated with Costco. ShareBuilder is a
subsidiary of ING Bank, fsb. Securities products are not
FDIC insured, not bank guaranteed and may lose value.
Costco is not a broker/dealer and does not provide any
investment, administrative or fiduciary service.
New Service
Shipshape savings
from Sea Ray
COSTCO ALREADY has a great service for
members buying new cars—the Costco
Auto Program (CAP)—so why not one for
those buying new boats? And not just any
boat, but the truly high-quality Sea Ray line.
Through June 30, 2009, CAP is testing
this new service in three states—California,
Oregon and Washington—and Costco
members are offered substantial savings on
five Sea Ray models: the Sport, Select,
Sundeck, Select Fission and Sundancer,
each in varying lengths.
• The base price of the boat is a low,
prearranged Costco member price.
• Costco members receive an additional
incentive of $500 to $3,000, depending
on the model.
• Any currently available national Sea
Ray incentives will also apply.
• Costco members buying one of these
boats are eligible to receive a $500
Costco Cash card from CAP after com-
pleting a CAP redemption form and
CAP satisfaction survey.
For complete details, visit Costco.com
and enter “SEARAY09” in the search box.
Costco does not sell boats; members need
to go to a participating Sea Ray dealer.
