Barbara spent some of her money on a vest, a pair of canvas shoes and some bracelets. She spent ¹₈ of her money and an additional $280 on a vest. Next, she spent ⁴₇ of the remaining money and an additional $57 on a pair of canvas shoes. Finally, she spent ⁵₆ of what she had left on some bracelets and had $5 left. How much did Barbara have at first?
Fraction of the money that she had left
= 1 - ⁵₆ 
= ¹₆

¹₆ of the money she had left = 5
⁶₆ of the money she had left = 6 x 5 = 30

Fraction of the remaining money excluding the additional $57 spent on a pair of canvas shoes
= 1 - ⁴₇
= ³₇

³₇ of the remaining money = 30 + 57 = 87
¹₇ of the remaining money = 87 ÷ 3 = 29
⁷₇ of the remaining money = 7 x 29 = 203

Fraction of the total money excluding the additional $280 spent on the vest
= 1 - ¹₈
= ⁷₈

⁷₈ of total money = 203 + 280 = 483
¹₈ of total money = 483 ÷ 7 = 69
⁸₈ of total money = 8 x 69 = 552

Amount that Barbara had at first = $552

Answer(s): $552