Solving Money Word Problems

Money word problems are a great way to use math in real life! In these problems, you will practice adding, subtracting, and multiplying dollars and cents to figure out totals and calculate change.

The Basics: Dollars and Cents

When working with money, the decimal point separates the dollars from the cents. For example, in \12.50$, you have$12$dollars and$50$ cents. Always remember to line up the decimal points when you add or subtract money!

Calculating Totals

To find the total cost of multiple items, you can use addition or multiplication.

Example: Movie tickets are \9.50$for adults and$$6.75$for children. How much does it cost for$2$adults and$3$ children?

First, find the cost for the adults: $\$9.50 \times 2 = \$19.00$

Next, find the cost for the children: $\$6.75 \times 3 = \$20.25$

Finally, add them together to find the total: $\$19.00 + \$20.25 = \$39.25$

Making Change

"Change" is the money you get back when you pay with more money than an item costs. To find the change, subtract the total cost from the amount paid.

Example: You buy three shirts that cost \12.50$each. If you pay with a$$50$ bill, how much change will you get?

First, find the total cost of the shirts: $\$12.50 \times 3 = \$37.50$

Next, subtract the total cost from the \50$bill. Remember to write$$50$as$$50.00 so you can line up the decimals: $$ \50.00 - $37.50 = $12.50 $$

You will get \12.50$ in change!

Figuring Out How Many Items You Can Buy

Sometimes you need to find out how many items you can afford with a certain amount of money.

Example: Apples cost \1.25$each. How many can you buy with$$10.00$?

You can use division, or you can repeatedly add \1.25$until you reach$$10.00$. Since$8$groups of$$1.25$make exactly$$10.00: $$ \1.25 \times 8 = $10.00 $$

You can buy exactly $8$ apples!