Esther spent some of her money on a blouse, a pair of sport shoes and some necklaces. She spent ¹₇ of her money and an additional $265 on a blouse. Next, she spent ³₅ of the remaining money and an additional $59 on a pair of sport shoes. Finally, she spent ⁴₅ of what she had left on some necklaces and had $3 left. How much did Esther have at first?
Fraction of the money that she had left
= 1 - ⁴₅ 
= ¹₅

¹₅ of the money she had left = 3
⁵₅ of the money she had left = 5 x 3 = 15

Fraction of the remaining money excluding the additional $59 spent on a pair of sport shoes
= 1 - ³₅
= ²₅

²₅ of the remaining money = 15 + 59 = 74
¹₅ of the remaining money = 74 ÷ 2 = 37
⁵₅ of the remaining money = 5 x 37 = 185

Fraction of the total money excluding the additional $265 spent on the blouse
= 1 - ¹₇
= ⁶₇

⁶₇ of total money = 185 + 265 = 450
¹₇ of total money = 450 ÷ 6 = 75
⁷₇ of total money = 7 x 75 = 525

Amount that Esther had at first = $525

Answer(s): $525