Question

part c
one of the variable expenses that roxy knows shell need to include in her budget is utilities. she decides to review her utility costs for the past year. assuming the cost for utilities is the same in her new apartment, how much should roxy budget each month for utilities this year? explain your reasoning.
utility costs
bar graph with months (january to december) and corresponding costs: january $215, february $200, march $225, april $189, may $197, june $250, july $245, august $245, september $125, october $114, november $80, december $80

Explanation:

Step1: Sum all utility costs

First, we add up all the monthly utility costs: \(215 + 200 + 225 + 189 + 197 + 250 + 245 + 245 + 125 + 114 + 80 + 80\)
Let's calculate step by step:
\(215+200 = 415\)
\(415+225 = 640\)
\(640+189 = 829\)
\(829+197 = 1026\)
\(1026+250 = 1276\)
\(1276+245 = 1521\)
\(1521+245 = 1766\)
\(1766+125 = 1891\)
\(1891+114 = 2005\)
\(2005+80 = 2085\)
\(2085+80 = 2165\)

Step2: Calculate the monthly average

To find the monthly budget, we divide the total annual cost by 12 (number of months in a year). So, \(\frac{2165}{12}\approx180.42\) (rounded to two decimal places)

Answer:

Roxy should budget approximately \(\$180.42\) each month for utilities. The reasoning is that we first sum all the utility costs for the past year (\(215 + 200 + 225 + 189 + 197 + 250 + 245 + 245 + 125 + 114 + 80 + 80 = 2165\)) and then divide the total by 12 (the number of months in a year) to get the average monthly cost, \(\frac{2165}{12}\approx180.42\).