In October, Lee gave his wife, Joelle, $8500 for household expenditure. Joelle spent 50% of the sum on rental, 20% on food and saved the rest. In November, Lee reduced the sum he gave to Joelle. Joelle spent the same amount on rental and reduced the amount she spent on food by 30%. She saved the remaining 20% of the sum given to her in November. By what percentage was the sum given to Joelle reduced by?

	Rental	Food	Savings	Total
Before	50%	20%	30%	$8500
Change		- 6%	- ?	- ?
After	50%	14%
Comparing the amounts spent in November	80 u		20 u	100 u

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

Amount that Lee reduced on food in percent
= 30% x 20%
= ³⁰₁₀₀ x 20
= 6%

Total amount that Lee spent on rental and food in percent
= 50% + 14%
= 64%

100% → 8500

1% → 8500 ÷ 100 = 85

64% → 64 x  85 = 5440

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

80 u = 64% 

80 u = 5440

1 u = 5440 ÷ 80 = 68

Amount that Lee gave to Joelle in November
= 100 u
= 100 x 68
= $6800

Amount that Joelle received less from Lee from October to November
= 8500 - 6800
= $1700

Percentage that the sum given to Joelle was reduced by from October to November
= ¹⁷⁰⁰₈₅₀₀ x 100%
= 20%

Answer(s): 20%