About CostToKeep
CostToKeep was created to answer a simple question:
"What will this product really cost me to keep?"
Buying an appliance is only the beginning of its financial life. Energy, maintenance, repairs, aging components, and replacement decisions can matter for years after the initial purchase.
CostToKeep brings those factors together in a clearer decision-making experience.
What CostToKeep Does
CostToKeep combines available manufacturer specifications, observed market information, repair and parts data, category-level benchmarks, user-provided inputs, and transparent mathematical models.
Depending on the product, some metrics may have strong model-specific support while others rely on broader category information.
When broader assumptions are used, our goal is to disclose that clearly.
What CostToKeep Does Not Do
CostToKeep does not guarantee when a product will fail.
We do not provide professional repair quotations.
We do not claim that every model has comprehensive historical failure data.
We do not automatically recommend replacement simply because an appliance is old.
Our calculators are decision-support tools designed to help consumers examine costs and tradeoffs.
Our Approach
We aim to make every important estimate explainable.
Where practical, CostToKeep identifies:
- what information was used
- whether the data is model-specific or broader
- what assumptions were made
- the confidence level
- the calculation methodology
- the limitations of the result
Independence
CostToKeep is designed as a consumer decision platform rather than an appliance repair company.
If affiliate relationships, advertising, or commercial partnerships are used, they should be disclosed clearly and should not determine calculator results or editorial conclusions.