1) Laureen Mauer's salary a year ago was $53,000. If inflation during the year was 3.5 percent in Tampa where she lives, how much of a decline in her purchasing power occurred? Enter the dollar answer as a positive value. Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

2) Also, what would be her purchasing power if deflation of 1.5 percent occurred? Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

3) Megan's Aunt Karroll told her that she would give Megan $800 at the end of each year for the next three years to help with her college expenses. Assuming an annual interest rate of 5 percent, what is the present value of that stream of payments?

4) The amount a person would need to deposit today to be able to withdraw $9,000 each year for ten years from an account earning 6 percent. Round your answer to the nearest whole dollar.

Ramon Alvarez, of Nome, Alaska, signed up for his employer’s flexible spending account plan primarily because he can use the money to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses for himself and his disabled son. Ramon is in the 15 percent marginal tax bracket, pays Social Security payroll taxes of 7.65 percent, and pays a 4 percent state income tax rate.

1) How much will he save in income taxes by participating in the program this year in the amount of $3,200? Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

2) How much would Ramon save if he was in the 28 percent federal marginal tax bracket? Round your answer to the nearest dollar

3) Based on the Rule of 72 determine how long it would take to double an investment of $5,000 if you could invest it at 14 percent. Round your answer to one decimal place.

4) How long would it take to triple the investment? Use Appendix A.1. Round your answer to the nearest whole number. Round Future value of a Single Amount in intermediate calculations to four decimal places.