In March, Cole gave his wife, Jane, $8000 for household expenditure. Jane spent 50% of the sum on rental, 20% on food and saved the rest. In April, Cole reduced the sum he gave to Jane. Jane spent the same amount on rental and reduced the amount she spent on food by 20%. She saved the remaining 20% of the sum given to her in April. By what percentage was the sum given to Jane reduced by?

	Rental	Food	Savings	Total
Before	50%	20%	30%	$8000
Change		- 4%	- ?	- ?
After	50%	16%
Comparing the amounts spent in April	80 u		20 u	100 u

Amount that Cole saved in percent
= 100% - 50% - 20%
= 30%

Amount that Cole reduced on food in percent
= 20% x 20%
= ²⁰₁₀₀ x 20
= 4%

Total amount that Cole spent on rental and food in percent
= 50% + 16%
= 66%

100% → 8000

1% → 8000 ÷ 100 = 80

66% → 66 x  80 = 5280

The total amount that Cole spent on rental and food is repeated. 

80 u = 66% 

80 u = 5280

1 u = 5280 ÷ 80 = 66

Amount that Cole gave to Jane in April
= 100 u
= 100 x 66
= $6600

Amount that Jane received less from Cole from March to April
= 8000 - 6600
= $1400

Percentage that the sum given to Jane was reduced by from March to April
= ¹⁴⁰⁰₈₀₀₀ x 100%
= 17.5%

Answer(s): 17.5%