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The TI BAII Plus calculator is an important tool for any student taking finance courses. Most
professors point out early on that this calculator will become your best friend, so it is important
to know it well. Mastering your ability to operate the Time Value of Money keys will be the first
step in the essentials of finance. These instructions will show you how to set up your calculator
and how to operate the TVM keys through various problems. A basic understanding of financial
vocabulary will help to understand what the example questions are asking.
Step 1:
Step 2:
First:
Then:
PV = -1000
First:
Then:
Step 5: Clear your TVM worksheet. You MUST do this before every new problem.
Press: 2nd, CLR TVM, 2nd, QUIT
Note: The CLR TVM key is also the FV key
on the TVM row.
Always clear TVM worksheet before inputting new data.
Step 6:
Enter data in the TVM keys to find an unknown variable. After all of your given
information is entered, press the CPT key and then the TVM key of the variable that you are
solving for.
Note: The CPT key is often confused with the = key. The compute CPT key is at the top
left.
Example: If all other data is entered and you
are solving for the Present Value or
PV, then you will press CPT and
First:
Then:
then PV.
Step 7: Practice entering the data in the order given for these problems below. There is one
example problem for each of the 5 variables. When there are problems including values for
Present Value and Future Value, you will have to enter one of them as a negative. The calculator
must see a sign change between the two. If you are only given one of them, then you can enter
that number as a negative to make your solution a positive. When Payments are involved, if you
are making payments then PMT will be a negative. If you are receiving payments, then PMT is a
positive. Lump sum problems will not have payments and the PMT will equal 0. If you
encounter an ERROR sign or any other issues, then look on the last page of these instructions for
suggestions and quick fixes.
Clear TVM worksheet (2nd, CLR TVM, 2nd, QUIT)
Common Issues
ERROR 5: If this shows up on your screen, then you are missing a sign change. Check your
entered values for the Present Value PV and the Future Value FV. If there is no sign change
between these two then the ERROR 5 message will continue to appear.
Answer is a NEGATIVE: You havent necessarily done anything wrong here. The number
computed, whether it is shown as a negative or a positive, is the correct answer as long as you
write is as a positive. If you are solving for the Future Value, then you can enter your Present
Value as a negative and your FV will be computed as a positive. The calculator requires a sign
change between the FV and PV. You should naturally be able to recognize when a number should
be negative by thinking of it as either a cash flow in or a cash flow out. For example, an
investment in an asset would be a cash flow out because you have lost the opportunity to spend
that money on something else.
Note: In the future, when solving for problems that involve payments towards loans and
annuities, you can always remember that PMT should be negative when making payments
towards a loan and PMT should be positive when payments are received from an annuity.
TVM worksheet keeps DISAPPEARING: Make sure you are hitting the
CPT key to