In February, Rael gave his wife, Emma, $8000 for household expenditure. Emma spent 50% of the sum on rental, 20% on food and saved the rest. In March, Rael reduced the sum he gave to Emma. Emma 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 March. By what percentage was the sum given to Emma reduced by?

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

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

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

Total amount that Rael 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 Rael spent on rental and food is repeated. 

80 u = 66% 

80 u = 5280

1 u = 5280 ÷ 80 = 66

Amount that Rael gave to Emma in March
= 100 u
= 100 x 66
= $6600

Amount that Emma received less from Rael from February to March
= 8000 - 6600
= $1400

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

Answer(s): 17.5%