Question 5 (5 points) Suppose you make \( \$ 2542 \) a month and your car payment is \( \$ 453 \) a month. What percent of your monthly pay goes to pay your car payment? Round final decimal answers to two decimal places where necessary.

To determine what percentage of your monthly pay goes towards your car payment, you can use the formula: \[ \text{Percentage} = \left(\frac{\text{Car Payment}}{\text{Monthly Pay}}\right) \times 100 \] Plugging in the numbers, \[ \text{Percentage} = \left(\frac{453}{2542}\right) \times 100 \approx 17.80\% \] So, approximately \( 17.80\% \) of your monthly pay goes to your car payment. Now, remember, budgeting is crucial! To avoid overextending yourself on vehicle expenses, it's a good rule of thumb to keep your car payment below 15% of your monthly income. It helps ensure you're not sacrificing other necessary expenses for that shiny ride.