Wrangler Western has some of its jeans stone-washed under a contract with an independent contractor, Almos Garment Corp. If Almos operating cost is $26,000 per year for years 1 and 2 and then it increases by 4.00% per year through year 10, what is the year-zero present worth of the machine operating cost at an interest rate of 13.00% per year? (Round the final answer to three decimal places.)

The present worth of the machine operating cost is determined to be $