Final answer:
Jill should invest approximately $16,463 today at 8% compounded monthly to have $25,000 in five years.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate how much money Jill should invest today at 8% compounded monthly to have $25,000 in five years, we can use the formula for compound interest:
A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt)
Where A is the future value, P is the principal amount (the initial investment), r is the annual interest rate (as a decimal), n is the number of times the interest is compounded per year, and t is the number of years.
Let's plug in the values:
A = $25,000, r = 0.08, n = 12 (monthly compounding), and t = 5
$25,000 = P(1 + 0.08/12)^(12*5)
Solving for P:
P = $25,000 / (1 + 0.08/12)^(12*5)
Using a calculator, P ≈ $16,463
Therefore, Jill should invest approximately $16,463 today to have $25,000 in five years.