9. ALGEBRA While preparing his budget sheet, John Drake noticed that his annual expenses were 17,700 while his monthly living expenses were 300 more than his monthly fixed expenses. If John's total monthly expenses were 3,250 find his living expenses. __

To find John's living expenses, we need to set up an equation based on the information given.<br /><br />Let's denote John's monthly fixed expenses as \( x \). According to the problem, his monthly living expenses are $300 more than his monthly fixed expenses. Therefore, his monthly living expenses can be represented as \( x + 300 \).<br /><br />John's total monthly expenses are given as $3,250. This total includes both his monthly fixed expenses and his monthly living expenses. So, we can write the equation as:<br /><br />\[ x + (x + 300) = 3250 \]<br /><br />Now, let's solve this equation step by step:<br /><br />1. Combine like terms on the left side of the equation:<br />\[ 2x + 300 = 3250 \]<br /><br />2. Subtract 300 from both sides to isolate the term with \( x \):<br />\[ 2x = 3250 - 300 \]<br />\[ 2x = 2950 \]<br /><br />3. Divide both sides by 2 to solve for \( x \):<br />\[ x = \frac{2950}{2} \]<br />\[ x = 1475 \]<br /><br />So, John's monthly fixed expenses are $1,475.<br /><br />Since his monthly living expenses are $300 more than his monthly fixed expenses, we add $300 to $1,475:<br /><br />\[ \text{Monthly living expenses} = 1475 + 300 = 1775 \]<br /><br />Therefore, John's living expenses are $1,775.