text: where is the $? three friends contributed $10 each to buy an item that they liked with the thought that the item costs $30. so they called a boy and handed him the $30 and sent him on an errand. the boy went and bought the item which, incidentally, costs $25 only. thinking that if he returned all the change, the three would have difficulty dividing it  among themselves equally. so, he took $2 and returned the rest. hence, the three thought that the item costs only $27. if they paid a total of $27 and the boy got $2, and if the original amount handed over to the boy was $30, where is the missing dollar now? it's all how you look at it, think backwards. if they gave him 30 - 2 the boy took, there's 28. subtract the 3 the boy returned to them and there is your 25. the problem was originally about a hotel and a bellhop