(Ignore income taxes in this problem.) A company with $675,000 in operating assets is considering the purchase of a machine that costs $77,000 and which is expected to reduce operating costs by $23,000 each year. These reductions in cost occur evenly throughout the year. The payback period for this machine in years is closest to:
3.3 years
8.8 years
0.3 years
29.3 years