Haidan and Ying Li just had a baby girl, Julie. They want to make sure that they will have enough money to send Julie to college. They estimate that, 18 years from now, college will cost $35,000 per year for four years. Assume that these cash flows occur at the start of years 18–21. Further, Haidan and Ying believe that they could earn 8% a year on their investments.

Required:
a. How much money should they invest right now (as a lump sum) to have the required amount on hand at the start of year 18? That is, what is the present value of the future payments?
b. Haidan and Ying do not have the necessary cash to make a lump-sum investment today for Julie’s college costs. Rather, they plan to save systematically for the next 18 years. How much should they save each year to cover the expected cost? Notice that there will be 18 investments, starting now at the start of year 1 and ending at the start of year 18.