Tamara has a cell phone that charges $0.07 per minute plus a monthly fee of $19.00. She budgets $29.50 per month for total cell phone expenses without taxes. What is the maximum number of minutes. Tamara could use her phone each month in order to stay withi her budget?

Options

A. `150`
B. `271`
C. `421`
D. `682`

Answer

To solve the problem step by step, we will determine the maximum number of minutes Tamara can use her cell phone while staying within her budget of $29.50.

### Step 1: Identify the monthly budget and fixed costs
Tamara's total monthly budget for her cell phone expenses is $29.50. She also has a fixed monthly fee of $19.00.

### Step 2: Calculate the remaining budget for usage
To find out how much money Tamara has left for usage after paying the fixed fee, we subtract the monthly fee from her total budget:
\[ \text{Remaining budget} = \text{Total budget} - \text{Monthly fee} \]
\[ \text{Remaining budget} = 29.50 - 19.00 = 10.50 \]

### Step 3: Determine the cost per minute
Tamara's cell phone charges $0.07 per minute.

### Step 4: Calculate the maximum number of minutes she can afford
To find the maximum number of minutes she can use, we divide the remaining budget by the cost per minute:
\[ \text{Maximum minutes} = \frac{\text{Remaining budget}}{\text{Cost per minute}} \]
\[ \text{Maximum minutes} = \frac{10.50}{0.07} \]

### Step 5: Perform the division
Calculating the above expression:
\[ \text{Maximum minutes} = 10.50 \div 0.07 = 150 \]

### Conclusion
Tamara can use a maximum of 150 minutes on her cell phone each month to stay within her budget of $29.50.

### Final Answer
The maximum number of minutes Tamara could use her phone each month is **150 minutes**.

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