Question 1151705
let x equal what is left over from his annual earnings.
he invests that at 3.5% interest per year for 5 years, compounded annually.
the future value of the investment is equal to x * 1.035 ^ 5 = 1.187686306 * x.
that means that the investment was worth 1.187686306 times as much after 5 years.


for example, assume thomas makes an annual income of 50,000 per year.
assume that what is left over from that annual income is 10,000.
he takes 10% of that and invests it at 3.5% per year for 5 years.
10% of 10,000 is equal to 1,000 * 1.035^5 = 1187.686306.
that's how much his investment is worth after 5 years if the investment was 1,000.