Esther spent some of her money on a blouse, a pair of slippers and some bracelets. She spent ¹₇ of her money and an additional $178 on a blouse. Next, she spent ²₅ of the remaining money and an additional $34 on a pair of slippers. Finally, she spent ³₄ of what she had left on some bracelets and had $8 left. How much did Esther have at first?
Fraction of the money that she had left
= 1 - ³₄ 
= ¹₄

¹₄ of the money she had left = 8
⁴₄ of the money she had left = 4 x 8 = 32

Fraction of the remaining money excluding the additional $34 spent on a pair of slippers
= 1 - ²₅
= ³₅

³₅ of the remaining money = 32 + 34 = 66
¹₅ of the remaining money = 66 ÷ 3 = 22
⁵₅ of the remaining money = 5 x 22 = 110

Fraction of the total money excluding the additional $178 spent on the blouse
= 1 - ¹₇
= ⁶₇

⁶₇ of total money = 110 + 178 = 288
¹₇ of total money = 288 ÷ 6 = 48
⁷₇ of total money = 7 x 48 = 336

Amount that Esther had at first = $336

Answer(s): $336