Brooke lacks cash to pay for a $600 washing machine. She could buy it from the store on credit by making 12 monthly payments of $52.74 each. The total cost would then be $632.88. Instead, Brooke decides to deposit $50 a month in the bank until she has saved enough money to pay cash for the washing machine. One year later, she has saved $642—$600 in deposits plus interest. When she goes back to the store, she finds that the washing machine now costs $660. Its price has gone up 10 percent—the current rate of inflation. Was postponing her purchase a good trade-off for Brooke?