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Inconsistent Cash (December 2024 Challenge Question)

Posted November 30, 2024 12:00 AM
Pathfinder Tags: challenge question

A man phoned his wife and asked her to pick up some groceries. He told her that she could find an envelope on his desk with cash for the purchase. This envelope also had the dollar amount written on it, and the husband confidently replied "yes" when the wife asked if it would be enough money.

The wife selected $91 of groceries and found out she was actually short when it came time to pay. She called her husband who explained what happened.

How much money was the wife short by when it came time to pay? Why?

Answer 12.17.24

The envelope contained "86" dollars. The wife read it upside down (or rather, the husband wrote it wrong.)

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SolarEagle
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#1

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

11/30/2024 4:33 AM

$9. forgot about tolls...

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Rixter
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#2

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

11/30/2024 9:18 AM

The husband was from a foreign country where groceries are cheaper and they put the dollar sign after the number. The husband wrote 16$ on the envelope so she was $91-16$ = 75 dollars short.
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Randall
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#3
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

11/30/2024 1:56 PM

GA

But, I think he just wrote 16 on the envelope.

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Common Joe
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#9
In reply to #3

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/03/2024 8:37 AM

There would be several possible answers for two digit numbers that can be "read" right-side-up or upside-down. Handwriting can be poor and 0, 1, 2, 5, 8 can all be read upside down as same number. While 6 and 9 are reverse of each other upside down.

For instance, if husband had wrote 86 on the envelope and the wife read it as 98, thinking she had 7 extra dollars but was actually short 5.

Regardless, I'm sure the husband was still wrong and spent that night on the couch for embarrassing his wife at the store.
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Anonymous Poster #1
#13
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/17/2024 3:44 PM

Congrats - you got both the solution and dollar amounts correct.
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GM1964
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#4

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

11/30/2024 11:11 PM

Guess this was buying in the US where taxes are added at the checkout.

Elsewhere in the world (caveat: that I have travelled to), the price you see is the price you pay and any taxes are (optionally?) shown as a breakdown on the receipt.

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#7
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/01/2024 6:02 PM

Elsewhere in the world (caveat: that I have travelled to), the price you see is the price you pay and any taxes are (optionally?) shown as a breakdown on the receipt.

Yeah, I remember that (VAT). It makes the tax invisible so the customer associates the higher cost of the item to the vendor.
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#8
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/02/2024 12:14 AM

VAT is broken down on the receipt.

Most businesses can claim VAT back on purchases, or not get charged it for B2B transactions.

But for the consumer, knowing the shelf price is the price paid at the till is the most convenient as it avoids excessive mental math(s) as you go about your shopping.

Stores which deal with a good percentage of business customers have the exVAT prices on the stickers along with the incVAT price.

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#5

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/01/2024 3:39 PM

December 2025? We have a year to work on this...
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GM1964
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#6
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/01/2024 3:50 PM

In the mean time, I have this cast iron bath…..

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#10
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/09/2024 9:16 AM

Is getting rid of it on the cards?

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GM1964
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#11
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Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2025 Challenge Question)

12/09/2024 11:13 AM

We’ll have to ask the cat.

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redfred
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#12

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2024 Challenge Question)

12/09/2024 3:05 PM

The man forgot about the new tariffs.

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#14

Re: Inconsistent Cash (December 2024 Challenge Question)

12/19/2024 7:23 AM

The grocery store worked out a new payment plan for the remaining bill of 12 equal payments of $27.50

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Anonymous Poster (1); Common Joe (1); GM1964 (4); phoenix911 (1); PWSlack (1); Randall (1); redfred (1); Rixter (3); SolarEagle (1)

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