• The lifetime cost of a product or service refers to the total cost of owning it over its lifetime in addition to the initial purchase cost - in business you may hear this called TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

  • Lifetime costs can include maintenance, upgrades, annual membership fees, and products such as car gas or computer toner.
  • The consumer must also consider what he loses by using funds to buy a product instead of reducing debt, saving or investing in securities, which is often called “opportunity cost”.