You have recently won the UniSA "log tossing" competition. The prize of $200 is supposed to be used to buy a 50-year subscription to "Log News" This appears to represent a considerable saving on the normal subscription of $4.25 per half year, payable at the beginning of each half year with the first subscription due now. However, as a financial management student you figure that you may be better off by investing the prize money in your savings account which pays interest at an annual effective rate of 8% p.a. and paying the half yearly subscriptions from that account.
(a) How much (if anything) will you have left over each half year if you adopt the latter course of action?
(Note: If you received from your account an equal amount every half year starting at the beginning of the first half-year, from which you paid the normal subscription, how much would you have left over each half year?)
(b) Assuming you adopt the latter course of action, could you afford to pay to attend the World Log Tossing Convention when you retire in 40 years from now when the registration is expected to cost $1,850 at that time?