This is a real world demonstration to determine the amount of savings you should have put away for your retirement. This is a dynamic and powerful exercise to demonstrate the power of the time value...

This is a real world demonstration to determine the amount of savings you should have put away for your retirement. This is a dynamic and powerful exercise to demonstrate the power of the time value of money. Set your own financial goals and use this worksheet to understand how much you will need to have saved by retirement age to live the lifestyle that you have planned for yourself.

An explanation of this assignment is explained in the Time Value of Money instructional webinar. If you did not attend the "live" webinar, please view the webinar recording in full before attempting this assignment.

1. First, complete page one of the worksheet first by closely following the directions of each question. Much of the assignment is subjective based on your own financial goals, but the math is objective - and you must show your work to demonstrate your understanding of the assignment.


2. Next, complete #9 of the worksheet using your best estimate of you future earnings. If the time period set forth isn't appropriate due to your age, feel free to adjust the timeframes as needed.


3. Input the values from #9 on the worksheet into the Retirement Excel Template (Type directly over my values. They are there for illustrative purposes). It is important the values from the spreadsheet match the values you input into the Excel template. Also, don't forget to include the amount of savings you estimate to have accumulated. The worksheet is designed to be flexible to meet your own individual goals. If you are an older student, then change the variables accordingly or you may create a completely fictional scenario. Just be sure that if you change time (n) or rate (r) then you also change the associated interest factors.


4. The spreadsheet will then calculate much of the work for you. But please calculate the very last box at the bottom of the Excel template using your financial calculator. The variables are there for you. This assignment isn't designed to have you crunch a lot of numbers. You're doing enough of that type of practice inside of Connect. Rather, this exercise is the practical application of what you have learned about the time value of money from Chapter 9.
   


5. Go back and complete the remainder of the worksheet based on the values computed in the Excel template.
   

The Excel template must be submitted with the completed worksheet and the figures in both the worksheet and template must be consistent with one another. Discrepancies will be a cause for point deductions. Also, proofread carefully because I will also deduct points for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.Your submission must include both a completed retirement worksheet as well as the Excel template and be sure the numbers between the two documents match accordingly.

This exercise is designed for you to understand the power of compounding and the importance of time in that process (start early, save a lot). I hope you can walk away with this knowledge. While the Connect exercises make sure you know how to crunch the numbers, this template is something you can hopefully take with you long after this class ends.