Math Problem Statement

anakin has a balance of $6000 on his credit car and an apr of 20%. he decides that he will only make minimum payments towards paying off the balance. the monthly rate for minimum payments is 3%. what is the remaining balance on the card after 3 years.

Solution

To calculate the remaining balance on Anakin's credit card after 3 years, given that he only makes minimum payments, we need to account for the interest added to the balance and the payments made each month. Here's the step-by-step process:


1. Key Inputs:

  • Initial Balance: $6000
  • APR (Annual Percentage Rate): 20% → Monthly rate = 2012=0.0167\frac{20}{12} = 0.0167 (approximately 1.67% per month)
  • Minimum Payment Rate: 3% of the current balance each month
  • Time Period: 3 years (36 months)

2. Calculation Steps:

  1. Monthly Interest and Payments:

    • The monthly interest is applied to the current balance.
    • The minimum payment for each month is 3% of the current balance.
  2. Iterative Calculation for Each Month:

    • Update the balance by adding the monthly interest.
    • Deduct the minimum payment (3% of the current balance).

Let's compute this using an iterative approach to get the remaining balance. Parameters initial_balance = 6000 # Initial credit card balance in dollars annual_interest_rate = 0.20 # Annual percentage rate (APR) monthly_interest_rate = annual_interest_rate / 12 # Monthly interest rate minimum_payment_rate = 0.03 # Minimum payment rate per month months = 36 # Time period in months

Iterative calculation of balance over 36 months

balance = initial_balance for _ in range(months): interest = balance * monthly_interest_rate # Monthly interest minimum_payment = balance * minimum_payment_rate # Minimum payment balance = balance + interest - minimum_payment # Update balance

balanceAfter 3 years (36 months) of making minimum payments, the remaining balance on Anakin's credit card would be approximately $3700.73.

Would you like a detailed breakdown of the calculations or further assistance?

Related Questions:

  1. How much total interest did Anakin pay over the 3 years?
  2. What would happen if the minimum payment rate were increased to 5%?
  3. How long would it take to pay off the balance entirely at the 3% minimum payment rate?
  4. How does the APR impact the remaining balance over the same time period?
  5. What would the balance be if Anakin stopped using the card and made fixed payments instead?

Tip:

Always aim to pay more than the minimum payment on credit cards to reduce the total interest paid over time!

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Interest Calculation
Compound Interest
Iterative Calculations
Minimum Payments

Formulas

Monthly Interest = Balance × Monthly Interest Rate
Minimum Payment = Balance × Minimum Payment Rate
Updated Balance = Balance + Monthly Interest - Minimum Payment

Theorems

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Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12