After paying off a car loan or credit card, don't remove this amount from your budget. Instead, invest in your future by applying some of it to your retirement account.

How much would $550 invested at the end of each quarter be worth in 9 years at 4% interest? (Please use the provided table.)

Note: Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest cent.

Amount after 9 years:



Answer :

To find how much [tex]$550 invested at the end of each quarter would be worth in 9 years at an annual interest rate of 4%, we can use the future value formula for an ordinary annuity. Here's a detailed, step-by-step solution: ### Step-by-Step Solution: 1. Determine Quarterly Investment (Principal): - The amount invested at the end of each quarter is $[/tex]550.

2. Identify Number of Quarters per Year:
- There are 4 quarters in a year.

3. Calculate the Total Number of Quarters Over 9 Years:
- Total number of quarters = 9 years * 4 quarters/year = 36 quarters.

4. Annual Interest Rate:
- The given annual interest rate is 4%.

5. Convert Annual Interest Rate to Quarterly Interest Rate:
- Quarterly interest rate = Annual interest rate / Number of quarters per year
- Quarterly interest rate = 0.04 / 4 = 0.01 (or 1%).

6. Use the Future Value of An Ordinary Annuity Formula:
- The future value of an ordinary annuity formula is:

[tex]\[ FV = P \times \frac{(1 + r)^n - 1}{r} \][/tex]

where:
- [tex]\( P \)[/tex] is the principal amount per period ([tex]$550). - \( r \) is the interest rate per period (0.01). - \( n \) is the total number of periods (36). 7. Substitute the Values into the Formula: - \( P = 550 \) - \( r = 0.01 \) - \( n = 36 \) \[ FV = 550 \times \frac{(1 + 0.01)^{36} - 1}{0.01} \] 8. Calculate the Future Value: - First, calculate \( (1 + 0.01)^{36} - 1 \): - \( 1.01^{36} \approx 1.430768 \) - \( 1.430768 - 1 = 0.430768 \) - Then divide by 0.01: - \( \frac{0.430768}{0.01} = 43.0768 \) - Multiply by $[/tex]550:
- [tex]\( 550 \times 43.0768 = 23692.28 \)[/tex]

### Final Answer:
- The amount after 9 years, when [tex]$550 is invested at the end of each quarter at an annual interest rate of 4%, is $[/tex]23,692.28.

So, $23,692.28 would be the worth of the investments after 9 years.