HELP with math problem

[Liesje]

OK, I'm in charge of all the billing in my house of four. Usually, I buy everything we need and bill the three other housemates accordingly. However, I was gone this weekend, and instead of having one person buy the stuff, they all each bought one thing and nothing has the same value.

Melissa spent $8.30 on toilet paper, so she is owed $6.23, each person owes her $2.08

Taylor spent $11 on paper towel, so she is owed $8.25, each person owes her $2.75

Colleen spent $20 on trash bags, so she is owed $15, each person owes her $5


Now, I have a cable bill coming up which is $48.85 total, or $12.21 per person.

I have to figure out how to get everyone to pay everyone else back based on what is owed to me when I send out the cable bill. Make sense?

I can't figure it out!

 

[Liesje]

I spoke too soon, I think I've got it right but I'll wait and see if a math wiz gets the same answers...

 

[u2shamrock]

I think that's right...at least from the calculations that I got

 

[Liesje]

But I didn't post my answers yet

 

[hiphop]

make it simple...

2.08 plus 2.75 plus 5 plus 12.21 = 22.04 that each person has to pay alltogether

-> take a box

Melinda spent 8.30, so she puts 13.74 inside
Taylor spent 11, so she puts 11.04 inside
Colleen spent 20, so she puts 2.04 inside
You spent 48.85 so you take 26,81 out and pay the whole cable bill

one cent is left

 

[Liesje]

But, we want it done so no more money has to change hands except whatever is left of the cable bill that they owe me.

This is what I did, please tell me if it makes sense:

So, with the cable bill in mind, everyone owes me $12.21. What I did first was basically pay everyone else back 3/4 the amount they paid (because 1/4 they have to pay for themselves) by subtracting that from the amount they owe me, so Melissa still owes me $3.91, Taylor still owes me $3.96, and I still owe Colleen $2.79.

Now, we're splitting everything by four because there's four people. So, since I paid everyone back in full, I'm still owed 2/4 for each of their supplies (1/4 being what I owe myself, and 1/4 already being factored out above). I add those numbers to what each person still owes me based on the calculations above and get this:

I pay the cable bill, $48.85
Melissa owes me rent + $8.11
Taylor owes me rent + $9.46
Colleen owes me rent + $7.21


Yes? No?...

 

[Got Philk?]

Aren't I so helpful?

 

[u2shamrock]

But I didn't post my answers yet

Oh, sorry, I thought you were talking about what you'd already posted

 

[Liesje]

Aren't I so helpful?

So, does this mean I get to manage our money?

 

[pattip2000]

first of all , how the hell do you spend $20 on trash bags?

ok, each person owes a total of $22.04
just have everyone take out what they have already spent and give you the balance for the cable bill.
Melissa- $13.74
Taylor- $11.04
Colleen-$2.04
total $26.82

than you put in $22.03 towards the cable (you save a penny for your troubles)



ETA: ok, so I'm like 20 minutes late with an answer!

 

[pattip2000]

But, we want it done so no more money has to change hands except whatever is left of the cable bill that they owe me.

This is what I did, please tell me if it makes sense:

So, with the cable bill in mind, everyone owes me $12.21. What I did first was basically pay everyone else back 3/4 the amount they paid (because 1/4 they have to pay for themselves) by subtracting that from the amount they owe me, so Melissa still owes me $3.91, Taylor still owes me $3.96, and I still owe Colleen $2.79.

Now, we're splitting everything by four because there's four people. So, since I paid everyone back in full, I'm still owed 2/4 for each of their supplies (1/4 being what I owe myself, and 1/4 already being factored out above). I add those numbers to what each person still owes me based on the calculations above and get this:

I pay the cable bill, $48.85
Melissa owes me rent + $8.11
Taylor owes me rent + $9.46
Colleen owes me rent + $7.21


Yes? No?...

 

[Liesje]

first of all , how the hell do you spend $20 on trash bags?

ok, each person owes a total of $22.04
just have everyone take out what they have already spent and give you the balance for the cable bill.
Melissa- $13.74
Taylor- $11.04
Colleen-$2.04
total $26.82

than you put in $22.03 towards the cable (you save a penny for your troubles)

ETA: ok, so I'm like 20 minutes late with an answer!

20 = kitchen trash bags (we buy them like 3 times a year), and city trash bags ($12.75 for 10)

But if each person simply takes out what they spent from my cable bill, that means I'm paying for everything.

I have to pay the cable bill in full because all utilities and rent are in my name, so it's a question of who pays me what based on what they specifically paid and what we all owe each other.

 

[pattip2000]

you aren't paying the whole cable bill you only end up paying $22.03 out of your pocket, the rest is paid from what they paid you.

if you add up the total about of the bills you have listed, bags, paper towels, toilet paper and cable bill the total is $88.15 divide that by 4 each person owes $22.04.

 

[pattip2000]

Melissa pays $8.30(for tp) + $13.74(for cable) = $22.04
Taylor pays $11 (for paper towels)+$11.04 (for cable) = $22.04
Colleen $20 ( for trash bags) + $2.04 (for cable) = $22.04
You pay $22.03 (to cable)

The end result is that each person owes $22.04 and pays a total of $22.04

 

[Liesje]

you aren't paying the whole cable bill you only end up paying $22.03 out of your pocket, the rest is paid from what they paid you.

if you add up the total about of the bills you have listed, bags, paper towels, toilet paper and cable bill the total is $88.15 divide that by 4 each person owes $22.04.

Yeah, I see what you mean, but the problem with this is that the three of them already paid for those things so before we even begin to calculate how it works out, there is already an uneven distribution of who owes what and who is owed what. So, I end up paying the $22.04 give or take a penny out of my pocket, but not everyone owes me the same amount of money.

 

[pattip2000]

they aren't each paying you the same amount of money

can someone back me up on this, i think my math is right?

 

[Liesje]

Ah crap, I messed up one of my answers! Melissa should owe me $10.14

 

[Liesje]

Melissa pays $8.30(for tp) + $13.74(for cable) = $22.04
Taylor pays $11 (for paper towels)+$11.04 (for cable) = $22.04
Colleen $20 ( for trash bags) + $2.04 (for cable) = $22.04
You pay $22.03 (to cable)

The end result is that each person owes $22.04 and pays a total of $22.04

Can you explain how you got these?

 

[Liesje]

Here's the long version of the problem:

I owe Melissa $2.09, I owe Colleen $5, I owe Taylor $2.75

Melissa owes me $12.21, Melissa owes Colleen $5, Melissa owes Taylor $2.75

Taylor owes me $12.21, Taylor owes Melissa $2.09, Taylor owes Colleen $5

Colleen owes me $12.21, Colleen owes Melissa $2.09, Colleen owes Taylor $2.75


I owe Comcast $48.85 and will bill my housemates for whatever amounts they still owe me, once I can figure out a way to bill them in such a way that everyone pays everyone back at the same time.

 

[Got Philk?]

So, does this mean I get to manage our money?

 

[pattip2000]

for melissa she would owe a total of $22.04, she already paid $8.30 (when she bought the tp) so 22.04 -8.30 equals $13.74 still due to you for cable

for taylor she also owes 22.04 and already paid 11, so 22.04-11 equals 11.04 still due to you for cable

for Colleen, she too owes a total of 22.04, she paid 20 for trash bags so 22.04- 20 equals 2.04 to you for cable

you take what they pay you (a total of $26.82) and your 22.03 in and write a check for the cable bill, 48.85

now, lets talk about this cable bill, what kind of channels do you get for it? I don't have cable and I only get 3, 4 channels tops, but only one (NBC) comes in good enough to watch

 

[Liesje]

now, lets talk about this cable bill, what kind of channels do you get for it? I don't have cable and I only get 3, 4 channels tops, but only one (NBC) comes in good enough to watch

At my parents, we only ever had one TV that got three local channels.

At my house, we can afford cable since we split it. Comcast has a monopoly here, so besides very expensive satellite stuff or crappy dishes, it's all we can get. $48.85/mo gets you basic extended (I think it's called). About 75 channels. Basic is cheaper, but then you don't get TLC, Animal Planet, and our other favorites!

 

[hiphop]

But, we want it done so no more money has to change hands except whatever is left of the cable bill that they owe me.

This is what I did, please tell me if it makes sense:

So, with the cable bill in mind, everyone owes me $12.21. What I did first was basically pay everyone else back 3/4 the amount they paid (because 1/4 they have to pay for themselves) by subtracting that from the amount they owe me, so Melissa still owes me $3.91, Taylor still owes me $3.96, and I still owe Colleen $2.79.

Now, we're splitting everything by four because there's four people. So, since I paid everyone back in full, I'm still owed 2/4 for each of their supplies (1/4 being what I owe myself, and 1/4 already being factored out above). I add those numbers to what each person still owes me based on the calculations above and get this:

I pay the cable bill, $48.85
Melissa owes me rent + $8.11
Taylor owes me rent + $9.46
Colleen owes me rent + $7.21


Yes? No?...

what?

I don´t get your system.

Why didn´t you just keep it simple?

 

[Liesje]

There's no simple way to do it. Usually, it doesn't happen like this, I buy everything, split it by four and then bill everyone else. But, they're not smart enough to have one other person buy the stuff while I'm gone, and everyone is cheap enough to want to get paid back, even if it's a few bucks.

I added up my answers (10.14 from Melissa + 9.46 from Taylor + 7.21 from Colleen + (12.21+5+2.09+2.75 all from me)) and got $48.86 so it must be right

 

[hiphop]

There's no simple way to do it. Usually, it doesn't happen like this, I buy everything, split it by four and then bill everyone else. But, they're not smart enough to have one other person buy the stuff while I'm gone, and everyone is cheap enough to want to get paid back, even if it's a few bucks.

I added up my answers (10.14 from Melissa + 9.46 from Taylor + 7.21 from Colleen + (12.21+5+2.09+2.75 all from me)) and got $48.86 so it must be right

Up there t´was 8.11 Melissa and now its 10.14 Melissa while the other two haven´t changed? And in my calculatuion which is 100% proof right Melissa has to pay over 13 bucks!

I still don´t get it

But never mind.. please don´t bother to explain it.. its all good

 

[lmjhitman]

I added up my answers (10.14 from Melissa + 9.46 from Taylor + 7.21 from Colleen + (12.21+5+2.09+2.75 all from me)) and got $48.86 so it must be right

i got the same thing, give or take a couple of pennies.

so these amounts are based on what each person owes you for the cable bill, minus the amount that you owe them. so, after the cable bill is paid, using the above amounts, you will not owe anyone anything.

melissa, taylor, and colleen, however, still owe each other money, which they should take care of seperately, as it's got nothing to do with the cable bill.

 

[gherman]

first of all , how the hell do you spend $20 on trash bags?

ok, each person owes a total of $22.04
just have everyone take out what they have already spent and give you the balance for the cable bill.
Melissa- $13.74
Taylor- $11.04
Colleen-$2.04
total $26.82

than you put in $22.03 towards the cable (you save a penny for your troubles)



ETA: ok, so I'm like 20 minutes late with an answer!

This is the correct answer.
The easiest way to do this is total all of the bills plus your cable bill. So, you have a grand total of $88.15. You then divide this by 4 so each person owes $22.00 for everything then just subtract what each person payed for the individual items. The remaining ballance(above) is what you just has the people pay you and you pay the full cable bill. Then everyone will be even.

 

[Liesje]

Up there t´was 8.11 Melissa and now its 10.14 Melissa while the other two haven´t changed? And in my calculatuion which is 100% proof right Melissa has to pay over 13 bucks!

I said earlier I did hers wrong, I used the wrong number to begin with. That's why only hers changed. She can't possibly owe me over $13 for the cable bill when the max. amount each person owes for the cable bill is $12.21 each.

 

[Liesje]

Each way, they both equal the same amount of money coming back to me (26.81), so I guess it doesn't even matter. As long as I get $26.81 back, it's all good, problem solved.