Day 4: CFA Level I Quant Study Plan: Annuities and Cash-Flow Timing - 90 Days to CFA Level 1

Day 4 is about learning how money moves across time. Yesterday’s work built the foundation for time value of money. Day 4 of the CFA Level I study plan is focused on annuities and cash-flow timing. This is one of those Quant areas where the math is not always the hardest part. The real challenge is knowing when each cash flow happens. Today, the goal is to make cash-flow timing feel less confusing, especially when questions involve annuities, uneven cash flows, and payment timing

This is a study-plan post, not official CFA curriculum material. This plan is to guide examinees to prepare for CFA Level 1 in 90 days. The best way to finish the exams successfully is to give 300 sincere hours to the curriculum.  Use the plan to guide your evening prep while relying on your CFA materials or question bank for the readings and practice problems.

Checklist and Pre - study prep

• Calculator check: Confirm that your financial calculator is set correctly for payments per year, decimal places, and beginning/end mode.
• Formula page: Open your formula sheet to the time value of money section. Keep flash cards ready, filled or ready to fill
• Notebook setup: Create three headings: Ordinary Annuity, Annuity Due, Uneven Cash Flows.
• Question bank filter: Select Quantitative Methods questions related to annuities, cash-flow timing, and NPV-style calculations.
• Timer:  Set aside 3 study blocks. One main block for the quants, one small block for ethics reading, one review block. 

Today’s focus is not just getting answers right. It is learning to identify when cash flows occur.

Daily Ethics reading and prep

Spend 10-15 minutes on Ethics before the Quant block.

Today’s Ethics focus: professional conduct and diligence.

Read or review one short Ethics scenario involving an analyst preparing work for a client or employer. As you read, ask:

• Did the analyst act with reasonable care?
• Did they understand the basis of the recommendation?
• Did they separate facts from opinions?
• Did they keep proper records?
• Did they communicate limitations clearly?

Then answer 5 quick Ethics warm-up questions or review 5 Ethics flashcards. Classify any mistake as either a Concept gap or Reading error.

Main study block

Today’s Quantitative Methods focus is annuities and cash-flow timing.

Study these subtopics:

• Ordinary annuities: Payments occur at the end of each period.
• Annuities due: Payments occur at the beginning of each period.
• Present value of annuities: Discounting repeated payments back to today.
• Future value of annuities: Compounding repeated payments forward.
• Uneven cash flows: Handling different cash-flow amounts across periods.
• Cash-flow timeline drawing: Sketching when each amount occurs before using formulas or calculator keys.
• Calculator mode errors: Recognizing when BEGIN mode and END mode change the answer.

A useful rule for today: if the question feels confusing, draw the timeline first. Most annuity mistakes come from placing the payment in the wrong period.

25-question practice target

Complete 25 questions today.

Use this breakdown:

• 5 questions: Ordinary annuity present value
• 5 questions: Ordinary annuity future value
• 4 questions: Annuity due calculations
• 3 questions: Uneven cash-flow problems
• 3 questions: Cash-flow timing and timeline interpretation
• 5 questions: Ethics warm-up or scenario questions

For the Quant questions, focus on process. Before pressing calculator keys, write down:

• What is the cash flow?
• When does it occur?
• What is the interest rate?
• Are payments at the beginning or end?
• Am I solving for present value, future value, payment, rate, or number of periods?

Mistake-log prompt

After practice, log every missed or guessed question using these four labels as we have been doing the past few days.

• Concept gap: I did not understand the idea behind the question.
• Formula gap: I understood the concept but forgot the correct formula or setup.
• Calculator error: I entered values incorrectly, used the wrong mode, or missed a sign convention.
• Reading error: I misunderstood the wording, timing, or what the question asked.

For Ethics mistakes, use mainly Concept gap or Reading error. Ethics errors usually come from not knowing the rule clearly or missing a key word in the scenario.

Five-question review checkpoint

End the session by answering these five questions:

1. Can I explain the difference between an ordinary annuity and an annuity due?
2. Did I check calculator BEGIN/END mode before solving annuity questions?
3. Which type of problem caused the most mistakes today?
4. What was my accuracy on the 20 Quant questions and the 5 Ethics questions?
5. What one calculator habit should I carry into tomorrow?

Do not skip this checkpoint. The review is what turns practice into progress.

Tomorrow preview

Day 5 will stay within Quantitative Methods and focus on rates, compounding, discounting, and mixed time value of money practice.