Question

John's bank account was overdrawn. The status of his account was −$209. He did not realize the problem and wrote another check for $84. The bank charged him a $23 fee for being overdrawn.What was the new status of John's account at this point?

Answer 1

John's account was overdrawn by $209, and after writing a check for $84 and incurring a $23 overdraft fee, his new account balance became -$316.

Step-by-step explanation:

The new status of John's account after writing the check and being charged the overdraft fee is −$316.

When John wrote another check for $84 without realizing his account was already overdrawn by $209, the new check increased his negative balance. Then, the bank charged him an overdraft fee of $23 for the transaction. To calculate the new balance, we start with his initial negative balance and subtract both the amount of the check and the overdraft fee.

The calculation goes as follows: Initial Overdrawn Amount (-$209) minus Check Amount (-$84) minus Overdraft Fee (-$23), which equals to a total of -$209 - $84 - $23, resulting in -$316. This calculation demonstrates the concept of adding negative numbers and how bank fees can compound financial problems, such as increasing the amount an account is overdrawn when the balance is already negative.