Benjamin's credit card has an APR of [tex]19\%[/tex], calculated on the previous monthly balance, and a minimum payment of [tex]2\%[/tex], starting the month after the first purchase. His credit card record for the last 7 months is shown in the table below.

\begin{tabular}{ccccccc}
\hline \begin{tabular}{c}
End of \\
month
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
Previous \\
balance
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
New \\
charges
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
Payment \\
received
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
Finance \\
charges
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
Principal \\
paid
\end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c}
New \\
balance
\end{tabular} \\
\hline
1 & [tex]\[tex]$0.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2400.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$0.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$0.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2400.00[/tex] \\
2 & [tex]\[tex]$2400.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$48.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]38.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$10.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2390.00[/tex] \\
3 & [tex]\[tex]$2390.00[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$47.80[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]37.84[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$9.96[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2380.04[/tex] \\
4 & [tex]\[tex]$2330.04[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$47.60[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]37.68[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$9.92[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2370.12[/tex] \\
5 & [tex]\[tex]$2370.12[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$47.40[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]37.53[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$9.88[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2360.25[/tex] \\
6 & [tex]\[tex]$2360.25[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$47.20[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]37.37[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$9.83[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2350.41[/tex] \\
7 & [tex]\[tex]$2350.41[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]0.00[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$47.01[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]37.21[/tex] & [tex]\[tex]$9.79[/tex] & [tex]\$[/tex]2340.62[/tex] \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

What is the total amount that Benjamin has made in payments over the 7 months?

A. [tex]\[tex]$285.01[/tex]

B. [tex]\$[/tex]47.01[/tex]

C. [tex]\[tex]$225.64[/tex]

D. [tex]\$[/tex]59.38[/tex]



Answer :

To determine the total amount that Benjamin has made in payments over the 7 months, we need to sum up the payments he made each month. Observing the table, the payments he made in each of the 7 months are listed in the "Payment received" column.

Let's tally these up step-by-step:

1. In the first month, Benjamin made a payment of \[tex]$0.00. 2. In the second month, Benjamin made a payment of \$[/tex]48.00.
3. In the third month, Benjamin made a payment of \[tex]$47.80. 4. In the fourth month, Benjamin made a payment of \$[/tex]47.60.
5. In the fifth month, Benjamin made a payment of \[tex]$47.40. 6. In the sixth month, Benjamin made a payment of \$[/tex]47.20.
7. In the seventh month, Benjamin made a payment of \[tex]$47.01. Now, we simply sum these amounts to find the total payments over the 7 months: \[ 0.00 + 48.00 + 47.80 + 47.60 + 47.40 + 47.20 + 47.01 = 285.01 \] Therefore, the total amount that Benjamin has made in payments over the 7 months is \$[/tex]285.01.

The correct answer is:
A. \$285.01