Investment in its most simple form means “using an asset you own to generate future profits” and assets don’t always mean money; sometimes it could be time, effort, or a property you own.With this perspective, we can consider two school kids pledging portions of their lunches to each other as a crude form of investment.As for profits, it is up to you to define what is acceptable to you, based on the alternatives that surround you. For skilled investors, this is where using the time value of money comes in.

The Foundations of A Successful Investment

The time value of money rule is:"Money received today is worth more than that same amount received in future."The time value of money is used to guide investment decisions. Before you invest, you want to know which of the options before you promises the highest profits in today’s value. To do this you would grade your investments using either of these time value factors depending on your exact situation.<ol><li>Present value</li><li>Future Value</li></ol>

How Is This Applied?

PV= FV / (1+i)n Where:PV=Present value FV=Future valuei=Interest rate n=Number of years.

The formula for the present value of future payments

Calculating the present value of money answers the question;If an investment promises to pay me a certain amount in future, how much is that sum worth today?

1. Present value

Choosing the investment with the highest interest rate (returns rate) is viable but this doesn’t work in all cases, because it might be difficult to estimate the return rates on all available options.The length of time it takes for each investment to pay their respective returns should also be considered, among other factors like cost of investments, industry differences, the possibility of other cash inflows or compounding interest and any non-quantitative factors.

Factors To Consider In Your Decision

This answers the questions:I have a certain amount in hand today, how much is it worth in future?

2. Future Value of money

<ul><li>The time value of money is vital in making business decisions</li><li>The present value of money can be used to estimate what the profit of your investment is worth in today’s terms.</li><li>Discount rates or interest rates can be determined by considering what return you’ll get from another investment</li><li>And I may or may not have been a middle school business mogul with my lunch. You’ll never know.</li></ul>

What You Have Learnt

Interest rates used in the present value or future value formula can also be called discount rate. When considering an investment, it is appropriate to use the opportunity cost of putting your money elsewhere as your interest rate. This is calculated as:Opportunity Cost = FO−COwhere:FO= Forgone optionCO= Chosen option​

Interest rates

These ideas explain the importance of time value considerations in making investment decisions.

Every time the word investment is mentioned most people immediately think of the stock market, crypto, real estate and the likes. You probably do too and you are not wrong. But, investment in its most simple form means “using an asset you own to generate future profits” and assets don’t always mean money; sometimes it…

2. Future Value of money

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