To find out how much money Victor owes at the beginning of January, we need to evaluate the function \( f(x) \) at \( x = 0 \) (because January is the starting point, which corresponds to 0 months after January).
The function is given by:
\[ f(x) = -35x + 2500 \]
Now, substituting \( x = 0 \):
\[ f(0) = -35(0) + 2500 \]
This simplifies to:
\[ f(0) = 0 + 2500 = 2500 \]
Therefore, Victor owes $2,500 at the beginning of January.