Money Management

With over 123 million members worldwide, Costco is one of the most popular retailers on the planet. Here are some perks most may not know about. 

Costco has a faithful legion of fans — otherwise known as members. There are 123 million of them, to be precise. Throughout the years, Costco has added new membership benefits, some less well-known than others. Here are four that members may not realize exist.

1. RV parking

Whether you spend part of each year visiting the highways and byways of North America or you’re hoping to rent an RV for your next vacation, it’s good to know that some Costco locations allow RVs to park overnight in their lots. Free overnight parking can certainly cut down the cost of travel.

Consider the convenience. You arrive near closing time, pick up all the items you’ve already burned through or forgotten to bring, and spend the night in a well-lit lot. Granted, pulling an RV into a (typically) packed Costco lot may not be the easiest thing you’ve ever done, but once the lot clears out, you may even hear the sound of crickets.

Notice we said that some Costcos permit overnight parking for RVs. When a store does not, it’s often because local ordinances don’t allow it. However, with so many Costcos scattered across the country, you should have options.

The easiest way to determine which Costcos allow overnight RV parking is to check this Costco locations finder. Once you see one near where you plan to stay, call that store and ask to speak with the manager. Once you have them on the line, ask about their overnight policy. If the store does permit overnight parking, ask for permission to stay. According to the Camper Report, Costco has rules for campers, so you may want to ask where you can get a copy of those.

2. Home, auto, renters, and specialty insurance

In the back of our minds, most of us realize that Costco offers insurance, but we’re not sure of the details. Partnering with CONNECT, powered by American Family, Costco members receive discounted rates on many of their insurance needs. Beyond the initial discount, CONNECT allows you to add more. For example, you may qualify for a safe driving, multi-policy, or student discount.

And if you’re an Executive member, CONNECT sweetens the pot even more by providing you with benefits like roadside and lockout assistance.

At a time when many people are unhappy with the insurance industry, 9 out of 10 members who sign up for CONNECT coverage go on to renew their policy with the insurer.

3. Home and business supplies

While it may occur to you to pick up envelopes and printer paper at Costco, have you ever taken advantage of the low prices on items like checks, ink stamps, and address labels? Many of the supplies you need to take care of business — at home or in the office — are available for up to 50% off.

Executive members enjoy an even deeper discount.

4. Floral delivery

Once you factor in delivery costs, sending a lovely bouquet of flowers to someone can cost a small fortune. That’s not the case at Costco. Costco’s online floral department offers everything from anniversary and graduation bouquets to bulk flowers. And here’s where the real savings come in: Delivery is free. The price you see listed on the site, plus tax, is the price you pay.

Few things are more frustrating than typing your credit card number into a florist’s site, only to learn that delivery costs nearly doubled your purchase price.

As Costco layers on new perks, keeping track of them may become even more difficult. It’s a good idea to check periodically to see if there are any you’re not taking full advantage of.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Dana George has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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If you are starting a business, you’ll want to register your domain name. That way, you can develop an online presence. 

When you are starting a small business, you have a lot to think about. You’ll need to make a business plan, open a business bank account, and decide how to structure your company, among many other vital decisions.

As you’re taking care of all these tasks, it’s easy to forget one important step. Doing so could be a big mistake, though, so don’t forget to check this item off your to-do list.

Make sure to do this when you pick a business name

When you have selected a name for your company, one of the key steps you will want to take is registering the domain name. For example, if you’re starting a restaurant called Molly’s Hot Dogs and Wings,” you’d likely want to try to register a website with some variation of that name (like www.MollysHotDogs.com) or even the entire name.

You’ll want to do this because it is inevitable that people are going to eventually search for your company online — if for no other reason than to find your contact information or your hours of service. Even if you aren’t quite ready to make a website yet, you’ll want to have your site available to you once it comes time to jump into online marketing.

Registering your domain name can also protect you from having your brand tarnished by someone else registering the name of your business and creating a website that could damage your reputation. For example, this has happened to political candidates who didn’t register their own names and who ended up with someone else buying the site and posting an ad for their direct competitors.

With around 76% of U.S. adults shopping online and many people turning to the internet to learn about local companies even when not buying over the internet, you cannot afford not to care about the web presence of your new company. And, this all starts with getting your domain name.

How to register a domain name

If you want to register a domain name, you’ll first need to make sure no one has it registered already.

You’ll then need to purchase the name and complete the registration process using a domain registrar. There are several different ones including Google Domains. You will likely have to pay an annual fee to have the domain registered, which can vary depending on whether you want your web address to end in .com, .net, .org, or some other ending.

Once the domain name is yours, you can put up a website at your convenience. If someone else already has your chosen name, though, you may need to track down the owner and try to purchase it — which could be expensive if the name is popular.

It’s important to go through this process, however, as you ideally don’t want anyone else to have your business name as a website as that could make it harder for people to find you online and create brand confusion as well. Take care of this task to protect your company’s online identity and have the peace of mind of knowing that your company’s online presence is yours alone to control.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Is opening a high-yield savings account worthwhile? Yes! Find out how much you can earn with $5,000 in a high-yield savings account. You may be surprised. 

Setting aside extra money can be a great way to prepare yourself financially for the unexpected. Some assume that opening a savings account isn’t worthwhile because the interest earned is too little. But that’s not the case if you open a high-yield savings account.

Current rates for these accounts are competitive due to recent Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. With a deposit of $5,000, you could earn significant extra money, which could help you increase your emergency savings faster. Curious how much you can make? I’ll outline how much you can earn with $5,000 in a high-yield savings account below.

You can earn more interest in a high-yield savings account

For savings accounts, banks use an annual percentage rate (APY) to describe the returns you can expect if you keep your money in your bank account for a year.

Many brick-and-mortar banks offer meager rates on their savings accounts. It’s not uncommon for a traditional savings account to offer rates as low as 0.01% APY. That means you could be missing out on interest.

A high-yield savings account typically offers a higher APY than a savings account from a traditional brick-and-mortar bank. Many major online banks offer 4.00% APY or higher for their high-yield savings accounts.

So how much will you end up earning with $5,000 in savings? Let’s compare the earning potential from both savings accounts to illustrate the benefit of keeping your extra money in a savings account with a higher interest rate.

How much interest you can earn with $5,000 in savings

You can calculate how much interest you can earn by taking your initial deposit amount and multiplying it by the APY. This will show you how much interest you’ll earn if you keep the money in your account for a year.

For my calculations below, I went with a 0.01% APY for a standard savings account and a 4.40% APY rate for a high-yield savings account. The accounts on our best high-yield savings accounts list have APYs ranging from 4.00% APY to 4.95% — I settled somewhere in the middle.

The calculations below assume an initial $5,000 deposit with no additional deposits made:

As you can see, that’s more than $200 earned in only a year on the high-yield account, compared to only $0.50 earned in a year on the traditional savings account. If you’re not yet using a high-yield savings account, you may want to consider opening one so you don’t miss out on the chance to earn free money without doing any extra work.

The power of compound interest

When you have a savings account, you’ll earn compound interest, which is interest that you earn on interest. The longer you keep your money in your savings account, the more you’ll earn.

To illustrate how much interest you can earn, here’s how much money you’ll make if you keep your initial $5,000 deposit in a high-yield savings account anywhere from one to five years. Again, this is assuming you make no additional contributions beyond your initial deposit.

Here’s a breakdown:

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to earn interest

If you’ve been saving up for an expensive purchase, emergencies, or any other reason, keep your extra cash in a bank account that earns interest. Before moving your money from your checking account to a savings account, compare current savings account APYs. Opening a high-yield savings account could help you boost your bank account balance faster. For additional money management tips, review our personal finance resources.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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