Cathy, Fanny and Winnie bought a gift for their friend. They shared the cost equally between them. Cathy used ³₈ of her savings, Fanny used ⁴₅ of her savings and Winnie used ²₇ of her savings. Cathy and Winnie had $1000 left. How much did each girl pay for the gift?
The amount spent by each girl is the same.  Make the numerators the same.
LCM of 3, 4 and 2 = 12

3x48x4 of Cathy's savings = 4x35x3 of Fanny's savings = 2x67x6 of Winnie savings
1232 of Cathy's savings = 1215 of Fanny's savings = 1242 of Winnie's savings

	Cathy	Fanny	Winnie
Before	32 u	15 u	42 u
Change	- 12 u	- 12 u	- 12 u
After	20 u	3 u	30 u

Savings that Cathy had left
= 32 u - 12 u
= 20 u

Savings that Winnie had left
= 42 u - 12 u
= 30 u

Total savings that Cathy and Winnie had left
= 20 u + 30 u
= 50 u

50 u = 1000

1 u = 1000 ÷ 50 = 20

Amount that each girl paid
= 12 u
= 12 x 20
= $240

Answer(s): $240