Mary spent some of her money on a sweater, a pair of sandals and some necklaces. She spent ¹₃ of her money and an additional $186 on a sweater. Next, she spent ³₈ of the remaining money and an additional $18 on a pair of sandals. Finally, she spent ²₃ of what she had left on some necklaces and had $4 left. How much did Mary have at first?
Fraction of the money that she had left
= 1 - ²₃ 
= ¹₃

¹₃ of the money she had left = 4
³₃ of the money she had left = 3 x 4 = 12

Fraction of the remaining money excluding the additional $18 spent on a pair of sandals
= 1 - ³₈
= ⁵₈

⁵₈ of the remaining money = 12 + 18 = 30
¹₈ of the remaining money = 30 ÷ 5 = 6
⁸₈ of the remaining money = 8 x 6 = 48

Fraction of the total money excluding the additional $186 spent on the sweater
= 1 - ¹₃
= ²₃

²₃ of total money = 48 + 186 = 234
¹₃ of total money = 234 ÷ 2 = 117
³₃ of total money = 3 x 117 = 351

Amount that Mary had at first = $351

Answer(s): $351