18. Carmens Beauty Salon has estimated monthly financing requirements for the next six months as follows: January.. 8,500 April. 8,500 February 2,500 May.. 9,500 March.. 3,500 June.. 4,500 Short-term financing will be utilized for the next six months. Projected annual interest rates are: January.. 9.0% April. 16.0% February 10.0% May.. 12.0% March.. 13.0% June.. 12.0% a. Compute total dollar interest payments for the six months. To convert an annual rate to a monthly rate, divide by 12. Then multiply this value times the monthly balance. To get your answer, sum up the monthly interest payments. b. If long-term financing at 12 percent had been utilized throughout the six months, would the total-dollar interest payments be larger or smaller? Compute the interest owed over the six months and compare your answer to that in part a.