Question

You will be graduating in two years and are thinking about your future. You know that you will want to buy a house five years after you graduate and that you will want to put down $60,000. As of right now, you have $8,000 in your savings account. You are also fairly certain that once you gradu- ate, you can work in the family business and earn $32,000 a year, with a 5 percent raise every year. You plan to live with your parents for the first two years after graduation, which will enable you to minimize your expenses and put away $10,000 each year. The next three years, you will have to live on your own as your younger sister will be graduating from college and has already announced her plan to move back into the family house. Thus, you will be able to save only 13 percent of your annual salary. Assume that you will be able to invest savings from your salary at 7.2 percent. At what interest rate will you need to invest the current savings account balance in order to achieve your goal? Hint: Draw a time line that shows all the cash flows for years 0 through 7. Remember, you want to buy a house seven years from now and your first salary will be in year 3.

Answer 1