Questions: You can afford a 200 per month car payment. You've found a 4 year loan at 3% interest. How big of a loan can you afford?
Transcript text: You can afford a $\$ 200$ per month car payment. You've found a 4 year loan at $3 \%$ interest. How big of a loan can you afford?
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the Parameters
Monthly Payment (PMT): $200
Annual Interest Rate (r): 3%
Loan Term (n): 4 years
Step 2: Apply the Formula for the Present Value of an Annuity
The formula to calculate the maximum loan amount (Principal, \(P\)) is:
\[ P = PMT \times \left( \frac{1 - (1 + r/12)^{-n \times 12}}{r/12} \right) \]
Where:
\(PMT\) is the fixed monthly payment amount.
\(r\) is the annual interest rate (as a decimal), which is 0.03.
\(n\) is the loan term in years, which is 4.
Step 3: Substitute the Values into the Formula
Substituting the given values into the formula, we get:
\[ P = 200 \times \left( \frac{1 - (1 + 0.03/12)^{-n \times 12}}{0.03/12} \right) \]
Step 4: Perform the Calculation
After performing the calculation, the maximum loan amount (Principal) that can be afforded is: $9035.74
Final Answer:
The maximum loan amount that can be afforded with a monthly payment of $200, an annual interest rate of 3%, and a loan term of 4 years is ^$9035.74^.