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What Is the Present Value of Money?

 
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Understanding the present value of money can help you make smart investments. This article looks at the formula for calculating the present value of money and provides an example.

A graph showing the present value of an investment over time.

The present value of money is a financial formula used primarily by investors to determine how much money a given investment will be worth in the future. It is calculated by taking the future value of an investment and subtracting the amount of interest that would have been earned over the course of the investment. For example, the present value of $500 invested each year for 10 years at a rate of 5% is $4,388.67.

The formula used to calculate the present value of money is fairly simple: the present value is equal to the future value of the investment minus the amount of interest that would have been earned over the course of the investment. To calculate the present value of money, you'll need to know the future value of the investment, the rate of return, and the number of years the investment will be held.

The future value of an investment is the amount of money you'll earn one year from today at a given rate of return. For example, if you invest $500 now at a 10% rate of return, the future value of your investment will be $1,000. The rate of return is the percentage of interest that you'll earn on your investment over the course of the year. And the number of years is the amount of time you plan to hold the investment.

To find the future value of the investment, you'd plug those numbers plus the interest rate and compounding periods into the formula. FV=PV(1+r)^n. In this example, FV=$10,000. To calculate the present value of the investment, you'd subtract the amount of interest that would have been earned over the course of the investment. The present value of the investment would be $4,388.67.

The present value of money is an important concept to understand when making any kind of investment. Knowing the present value of your investment can help you determine if it's the right decision for you, or if it's a better idea to invest elsewhere. It's also important to understand the concept of present value when evaluating investment from a company or other entity.

For example, when evaluating an investment opportunity, you'll want to know the present value of the investment, as well as the rate of return and the number of years that the investment will be held. This information can help you determine if the investment is a good one, or if you should invest elsewhere.

The same is true when evaluating a company's financial statements. When evaluating a company's financial statements, you'll want to know the present value of the company's assets, liabilities, and equity. This information can help you determine if the company is a good investment or not.

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present valuefuture valueinvestmentrate of returnfinancial statementsassetsliabilitiesequity
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