Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Dr. Melody Bell is a personal finance expert, entrepreneur, educator, and researcher. Melody ...

An even cash flow of regularly scheduled payments defines an annuity. If you borrow money to start your business, the monthly payments are calculated using an annuity formula. Two basic annuity ...

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed. Amy is an ACA and the CEO and founder of ...

Image source: Flickr user Ken Funakoshi. A perpetual annuity, also called a perpetuity, promises to pay a certain amount of money to its owner forever. A classic example would be that of a perpetual ...

Net present value (NPV) represents the difference between the present value of cash inflows and outflows over a set time period. Knowing how to calculate net present value can be useful when choosing ...

Calculate the present value of each year's cash flow by dividing by (1 + discount rate)^number of years. Sum all present values to find the total value of projected cash flows, which in this example ...

Calculating the interest rate using the present value formula can at first seem impossible. However, with a little math and some common sense, anyone can quickly calculate an investment's interest ...

Too many financial decisions are made without factoring in the time value of money. Whether providing financial planning advice related to a client’s retirement, advising a client about a business ...