Let me break this down a little bit:
Joe has a savings account with $422 in it.
He also has a credit card, meaning that whatever he spends on his credit card, he'll have to pay back later.
So far, he has purchased $524 worth of merchandise.
If you subtract $422 from $524 it will equal =$122 he owes.
Therefore, Joes overall balance is reflected as a POSITIVE number.
The $122 dollars is represented as what he owes which would be a NEGATIVE number.
The ultimate answer to this question is POSITIVE.
Hope this helps! :)