Erika had $869 less than Howard. Erika spent ¹₇ of her money and Howard spent ²₃ of his money. In the end, Howard and Erika had the same amount of money left. Find the amount of money Howard had at first.

	Erika	Howard	Difference
Before	7x1 = 7 u	3x6 = 18 u	11 u
Change	- 1x1 = - 1 u	- 2x6 = - 12 u
After	6x1 = 6 u	1x6 = 6 u

Fraction of Erika's money left
= 1 - ¹₇
= ⁶₇

Fraction of Howard's money left
= 1 - ²₃
= ¹₃

Howard and Erika had the same amount of money in the end. Make the numerators the same. LCM of 6 and 1 is 6.

⁶₇ of Erika's money = ¹₃ of Howard's money
⁶₇ of Erika's money = ⁶₁₈ of Howard's money

Amount that Erika had at first = 7 u
Amount that Howard had at first = 18 u

Amount that Erika had less than Howard had at first
= 18 u - 7 u
= 11 u

11 u = 869

1 u = 869 ÷ 11 = 79

Amount that Howard had at first
= 18 u
= 18 x 79
= $1422

Answer(s): $1422