money

[darkstar]

IF I had borrowed �12-50 off two mates =�25-00

Gave each a �1-00 back owing �11-50 to each

�11-50 + �11-50 = �23-00   BUT  I HAVE �3-00

 IN MY HAND     =�26-00  

[Fibonacci]

Your question is a reworking of the missing dollar problem:-
The Missing Dollar
Three students checked into a hotel and paid the clerk $30 for a room ($10 each). When the hotel manager returned, he noticed that the clerk had incorrectly charged $30 instead of $25 for the room. The manager told the clerk to return $5 to the students. The clerk, knowing that the students would not be able to divide $5 evenly, decided to keep $2 and to give them only $3.

The students were very happy because they paid only $27 for the room ($9 each). However, if they paid $27 and the clerk kept $2, that adds up to $29. What happened to the other Dollar?

Answer
There is a saying that you cannot add apples and oranges. If you have 3 apples and 2 oranges do you have 5 apples? No. Do you have 5 oranges? No. You have five fruits, but the number of apples and oranges has not changed. Similarly, you cannot add real money and "what they think they paid".

When we count only real money, the students have $3, the clerk has $2, and the manager has $25. That is $30 total.

The reader is right that, as far as the students are concerned, they paid $27 and received $3 change which adds up to $30, but the $27 Dollars obtained from subtracting $3 from $30 is just the result of a calculation and not an accounting of the real money. The confusion about the $2 Dollars kept by the clerk can be avoided by tracking down the real money.