Answer:
$4724
Step-by-step explanation:
Involves 2 steps
In the first step we calculate the total value of savings as on her 18th birthday. This can be done using the Present Value (PV) function in Excel or any financial calculator.
Manually also it can be done by using the PVIFA table & looking up the factor for 6% interest rate column & 4 years row. The factor is 3.465. Then multiply the factor with 35,000 to get the same (approx.) result as above.
i.e. PV= PVIFA(4 years, 6%) * 35,000
The Excel screenshot is shown in attached file along with the formula:
In the next part, we treat this value as the future value of the annual savings of the parents. Note that they will start the savings from the next year, i.e. Beth's 2nd birthday & last payment will be on 17th birthday. So there will be 16 annual payments.
The calculation for the required annual savings in Excel is shown in the attached file (On a financial calculator also you can use the same PMT function with given inputs):
So they must save $4,724.07 annually for this purpose