Desmond had a savings account. he gave one half of his savings to a charity. he gave 1/4 of his savings to his sister. he then had $20. left how much did he have before he started giving his money away?

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Let m represent the amount of money Desmond started out with.

His outgoes were (1/2)m + (1/4)m, or (3/4)m.

Then m - (3/4)m = $20, which works out to (1/4)M = $20.

Multiplying both sides by 4, to remove fractions and solve for m, we get:

(4)(1/4)m = $80. Then m = $80. Desmond started out with $80.

answer: (3,11) is your answer.