the actual income for this month has been reduced by $200. how can this budget be modified so there will be…

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate actual income

Original budgeted income from wages is $1250, actual income is reduced by $200:
$$1250 - 200 = 1050$$
Actual income = $1050

Step2: Define net income formula

Net income = Actual income - Actual expenses
To have positive net income:
$$1050 - (\text{Rent} + \text{Utilities} + \text{Food} + \text{Clothes} + \text{Cell Phone}) > 0$$

Step3: Determine maximum allowable expenses

Maximum total expenses = Actual income = $1050
Original budgeted expenses: $450 + 150 + 220 + 200 + 75 = 1095
Actual expenses must be ≤ $1050, so total expenses need to decrease by at least $1095 - 1050 = $45

Step4: Evaluate modification logic

Option a suggests increasing food/utilities (raises expenses) and decreasing clothes/rent. If rent is decreased (a valid expense reduction), but increasing food/utilities would counteract savings. For positive net income, total expenses must drop below $1050, requiring overall expense cuts, not partial increases.

Answer:

The budget must reduce total actual expenses below $1050. This requires decreasing some expenses (e.g., rent, utilities, food, clothes, or cell phone) since increasing expenses (as in option a) would worsen the deficit. A valid modification would involve cutting expenses rather than increasing any category.

（Note: The provided option a is incorrect as increasing some expenses while decreasing others may not guarantee total expenses < $1050. The correct approach is reducing total expenses. If this is a multiple-choice question where the correct option isn’t fully shown, the key logic remains expense reduction.）