Earl Miller plans to buy a boat for $19,500 with an interest charge of $2500. Earl figures he can afford a monthly payment of $650. If Earl has to pay 36 equal monthly payments, by how much can he afford the boat per month?

To determine how much Earl can afford to pay per month, we need to consider the total cost of the boat, the interest charge, and the number of monthly payments he plans to make.

The total cost of the boat is $19,500, and the interest charge is an additional $2,500. Therefore, the total amount Earl needs to pay is $19,500 + $2,500 = $22,000.

Earl plans to make 36 monthly payments. Since he can afford a monthly payment of $650, we need to find out how much he can afford to pay towards the principal amount of the loan after subtracting the interest charge.

First, subtract the interest charge from the total cost of the boat: $22,000 - $2,500 = $19,500.

Now, divide the remaining principal amount by the number of monthly payments: $19,500 รท 36 = $541.67 (rounded to the nearest cent).

Therefore, Earl can afford to pay approximately $541.67 per month towards the principal amount of the loan.