# Help me solve this.. Simple math? Stupidity?

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-me-solve-this-simple-math-stupidity/292933>\
**Category:** random\
**Created:** [July 21, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-me-solve-this-simple-math-stupidity/292933 "2009-07-21T01:42:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jmreyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@jmreyes](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/jmreyes)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-me-solve-this-simple-math-stupidity/292933/1 "2009-07-21T01:42:52Z")

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I got this as a text message. Never really got to figure it out. Im not sure whether this is a trick question or whether its just something stupid but here is it anyway…

Say you saw a nice item for sale at $97 and you don’t have the money.  
You go to mom and borrow $50. Another $50 from dad.  
You go buy the item.  
You receive $3 as change.  
You pay mom and dad $1 each in advance and keep the other $1 dollar for yourself.  
You now owe mom and dad $49 dollars each.

$49 + $49 = $98  
$98 + $1 (you kept) = $99

What happened to the other $1 to make it a hundred?