You want to have $35,000 in cash to buy a car 4 years from today. you expect to earn 8 percent, compounded annually, on your savings. how much do you need to deposit today if this is the only money you save for this purpose?
You will need to use this formula: Principal = Total ÷ (1 + Rate) ^ years Principal = 35,000 / [1.08]^4 Principal = 35,000 / 1.36048896
Principal =
25,726.04
So, you would have to deposit $25,762.04 @ 8 per cent to have 35,000 in four years.