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Future value of a present sum

Description

A time value of money calculation is one which solves for one of several variables in a financial problem. In a typical case, the variables might be: a balance (the real or nominal value of a debt or a financial asset in terms of monetary units); a periodic rate of interest; the number of periods; and a series of cash flows (in the case of a debt, these are payments against principal and interest; in the case of a financial asset, these are contributions to or withdrawals from the balance). More generally, the cash flows may not be periodic but may be specified individually. Any of the variables may be the independent variable (the sought-for answer) in a given problem. For example, one may know that: the interest is 0.5% per period (per month, say); the number of periods is 60 (months); the initial balance (of the debt, in this case) is 25,000 units; and the final balance is 0 units. The unknown variable may be the monthly payment that the borrower will need to pay.

The value of an asset or cash at a specified date in the future, based on the value of that asset in the present, is show in this formula.

Related formulas

Variables

FVFuture value (dimensionless)
PVPresent value (capital) (dimensionless)
iInterest rate (decadic form) (dimensionless)
nNumber of time periods (dimensionless)