Question:
An investment of $\$24,\!000$ is made in a government bond that will pay $1\%$ bi-monthly interest (meaning that the investment will increase by $1\%$ every two months). At the end of five years, what is the total number of dollars in this investment?

Express your answer to the nearest whole number.

Answer:
Five years make sixty months, so interest will have been compounded 30 times. That means that the investment will have grown to $\$24,\!000 \cdot 1.01^{30} \approx \boxed{\$32,\!348}$, to the nearest dollar.