total cost

GM Paid Out $594.5M For 399 Ignition Switch Death And Injury Claims

GM Paid Out $594.5M For 399 Ignition Switch Death And Injury Claims

Four months after General Motors said it had approved 124 death claims – 10 times the number the carmaker originally acknowledged – related to the massive ignition switch defect it failed to address in more than 2.59 million vehicles, lawyers for the company have calculated a final bill for paid-out claims: $594.5 million.  [More]

Force A Reality Check With This "Real Cost" Credit Card Tool

Force A Reality Check With This "Real Cost" Credit Card Tool

The next time you want to splurge on some big ticket item, you might want to head over to The Real Damage first to see what it’s going to actually cost you in the long run. The free online tool looks at your current balances and interest rates, as well as your monthly payments, and then approximates how much extra you’ll pay in interest on your new purchase before you’re totally debt free. [More]

Billshrink: iPhone 4 Is Best Value Among Latest Smartphones, If You Watch Data Usage

Billshrink: iPhone 4 Is Best Value Among Latest Smartphones, If You Watch Data Usage

BillShrink compared the new iPhone 4 to the Droid Incredible, the Evo 4G, and the Nexus One to see which one is the cheapest in total cost of ownership, and the results were somewhat surprising given the iPhone’s reputation as a money gobbler. If you opt for the cheapest data plan AT&T offers, the TCO for the iPhone 4 is the only one of the four devices that comes in under the $2,000 mark. But beware! That “cheapest data plan” conditional is a pretty tricky one. [More]