Derek has the opportunity to buy a money machine today. The money machine will pay Derek $47,368.00 exactly 13.00 years from today. Assuming that Derek believes the appropriate discount rate is 10.00%, how much is he willing to pay for this money machine?

1 answer

To determine how much Derek is willing to pay for the money machine today, we need to calculate the present value (PV) of the future cash flow of $47,368.00 that he will receive in 13 years. The present value can be calculated using the formula:

\[ PV = \frac{FV}{(1 + r)^n} \]

Where:

  • \( PV \) = Present Value
  • \( FV \) = Future Value (the amount he will receive in the future)
  • \( r \) = Discount rate (as a decimal)
  • \( n \) = Number of years until the payment is received

In Derek's case:

  • \( FV = 47,368.00 \)
  • \( r = 0.10 \) (10% as a decimal)
  • \( n = 13 \)

Now, substituting the values into the formula:

\[ PV = \frac{47,368}{(1 + 0.10)^{13}} \] \[ PV = \frac{47,368}{(1.10)^{13}} \] First, calculate \( (1.10)^{13} \):

\[ (1.10)^{13} \approx 4.439 \]

Now, substituting that back into the present value formula:

\[ PV = \frac{47,368}{4.439} \approx 10,654.69 \]

Therefore, Derek is willing to pay approximately $10,654.69 today for the money machine.