Question

At a local clothing store, Morgan finds they are having a storewide 40% off sale. She also has a $15 coupon which applies to her total purchase. When the sales clerk processes Morgan's order, she first applies the $15 off coupon, then takes the 40% off the remaining balance. Which order of the discounts is best for Morgan.

Answer 1

Morgan should first take the 40% off then apply the $15 coupon

Lets say her total was $150.

If you take the 40% off first, you get $90

150 * .6 = 90 (since you are taking off 40% you are still paying the rest of the 60% so you can just save extra steps by multiplying by .6 and not .4)

Now you subtract 15 from that value.

90 - 15 = 75 If Morgan takes the 40% off first and then applies the $15 dollar coupon, she has to pay $75.

If she applies the $15 coupon first, her total before the 40% is $135

150 - 15 = 135

The total will come out to be $81

$135 * .6 = 81

If Morgan takes the discount first before applying the coupon she has to pay less and saves the most money.