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Money Management

Use Shutterfly? Your Costco Membership Could Save You Big Time

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Shutterfly can be a great source for photos and customized gifts. Read on to see how you can reap even more savings as a Costco member. 

Image source: Getty Images

When people think about joining Costco, they’re commonly lured by the idea of getting to purchase grocery and household items in bulk. That can result in a lot of savings.

But there are benefits to being a Costco member beyond just bulk snacks and paper towels. Costco members can save money on everything from gas to furniture to travel. And if you’re a fan of the photo service Shutterfly, you may be able to reap some extra savings there, too, by virtue of being a Costco member.

Get ready to save a bundle

In an age when so many of us can store thousands of photos on our phones, the need to print photos may not be as high as it was years back. But if you’re someone who likes the option to print photos, Shutterfly is a great site to use. You can create an account and upload your photos onto Shutterfly, and from there, choose your prints or gift items.

That’s right — Shutterfly is a great source for customized gifts. Not sure what to get your grandmother for her upcoming birthday? Try a mug with your smiling face on it. Have a big event like Father’s Day coming up? You can purchase a customized blanket so your partner can nap on the couch with your actual dog and a blanket with your dog’s picture on it as well.

Meanwhile, if you’re a Costco member, you should know that you’re eligible for big savings on Shutterfly purchases. All you need to do is add your Costco member number to your Shutterfly account, and you’ll enjoy a 51% discount on what you’re buying. Plus, you’ll receive free shipping on orders over $49.

A great option to consider

Back in the day, it was possible to walk into your local Costco and get photos printed on the spot. But Costco made the choice to close its photo centers back in early 2021, and it was largely a lack of demand that fueled that decision. By partnering with Shutterfly, Costco is sort of compensating for those closures by giving its members another cost-effective way to access photo prints.

Meanwhile, if you have a Costco Phone Center account, you can follow an easy process to get your photos transferred onto Shutterfly. Keep in mind that it could take 24 to 48 hours, depending on the number of photos, for everything to get moved. An email will be sent to you once the transfer is complete.

But rest assured that even if you’re not transferring old photos over to Shutterly, but rather, are uploading new ones from scratch, you can still snag the aforementioned discount as a Costco member. You just need to make sure your Costco membership number is added to your Shutterly account.

Whether you have a need to print photos or order photo-based gifts occasionally or frequently, at a time when inflation is so high, every bit of savings counts. So it definitely pays to take advantage of the partnership Costco has established with Shutterfly.

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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.Maurie Backman 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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7 Things Homebuyers Can and Should Haggle On

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 You might be surprised by how many ways there are for homebuyers save on such a large purchase. Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com

A home is usually the most expensive purchase someone will ever make in their lifetime. However, it’s also a great time to save money through negotiation. Offering less than the asking price is just one of the ways to save money on a home. Read on for other homebuying expenses that can be negotiated, too.

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Here’s How Much Your Peers Get in Social Security

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 See how your Social Security benefits compare with those of other people your age. Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com

How much you receive in Social Security retirement benefits depends on multiple factors, which include when you open your claim. Generally, people as young as age 62 can begin receiving benefits. However, claiming benefits early could mean forfeiting as much as 30% of your full benefit amount. On the other hand, for every year past your full retirement age that you wait to claim benefits…

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The 15 Angriest Airports in America

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 Find out which U.S. airports make travelers the most angry and what their greatest frustrations are. DimaBerlin / Shutterstock.com

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Forbes Advisor. Mickey and Minnie Mouse come across as a happy couple without a care in the world, right? Well, we don’t know what Mickey and Minnie think, but a lot of travelers appear to be unhappy with the Southern California airport that’s closest to the pair’s Los Angeles-area workplace — Disneyland. Based on Twitter activity…

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Why Portugal Is a Top Overseas Retirement Option

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 This sunny corner of the world just might hit every item on your retirement list. Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Live and Invest Overseas. Portugal is hard to resist … We’ve named thin-sliced corners of this beautiful, sunny, friendly, safe, welcoming, and affordable country as the world’s top retirement havens more than any other. Just what makes it so tough to beat when considering options the whole globe over for reinventing your life? In fact…

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Is a Green Mortgage Right for You?

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Looking to buy a home and make it more energy efficient? Read on to see if a green mortgage is a good choice. 

Image source: Getty Images

There are several benefits to making a home more energy efficient. For one thing, there’s the knowledge that you’re doing your part for the planet. There’s also the potential to save money on utility costs — sometimes a significant amount.

But many of the homes you’ll see on the market today aren’t so energy efficient. And if you know you want to make those types of upgrades from the start, then you may want to consider forgoing a traditional mortgage loan and taking out a green mortgage instead.

How a green mortgage works

With a green mortgage, you borrow a sum of money to not only purchase a home, but make energy-efficient improvements. The upside of going this route is that you get the same borrowing rates and terms for your updates as you do for a non-green mortgage. That could be a cheaper route to take than signing a purchase mortgage and financing those updates separately.

Getting a green mortgage could also make it possible to update your home sooner than you’d be able to with a traditional mortgage. For some people, the only cost-effective way to finance energy upgrades is by tapping home equity. But it can take time to build that equity up, so a green mortgage solves for that by giving you access to that money right away.

There are some rules you’ll need to follow

If you’re interested in taking out a green mortgage, you should know that there are some specific rules you might need to follow. First of all, there’s a limit as to how much you can borrow for the energy-efficient upgrade portion of your mortgage.

Fannie and Freddie Mac won’t let you borrow more than 15% of the post-update value of your home. What this means is that if you’re looking to buy a $200,000 home whose value will rise to $240,000 once energy-efficient updates are made, you can’t borrow more than $36,000, or 15% of $240,000.

Also, you’ll generally need to have an energy assessment performed on your home before you can get approved for a green mortgage. That will involve having your home’s energy systems analyzed and getting estimates of the energy savings different projects are likely to result in.

Finally, you generally need to commit to doing your energy-efficient upgrades within a preset period of time after signing a green mortgage — commonly three to six months. But then again, a big reason to take out a green mortgage in the first place is to not have to put off those upgrades.

Can you refinance into a green mortgage?

If you’ve been in your home for a few years and are looking to make it more energy efficient, it may be possible to refinance into a green mortgage. But whether that makes sense at a time like this is questionable.

If you refinanced your mortgage in 2020 or 2021 when borrowing rates fell to record lows, then you’re probably going to end up with a much higher interest rate on a new mortgage today. So in that case, you may be better off borrowing against your home equity to finance energy-efficient improvements.

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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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