How to Figure Out The Sale Price of Something Quickly in Your Head

It's easy with a few simple steps

Here's an easy way to calculate the sale price of something when there's a percentage-off discount. This technique is very handy whether you're holiday shopping or grocery shopping!

Instructions

1. Round the regular price to full dollars. If it's $8.95, round it to $9.00.

2. Figure out the "pay percent," which is the percent you actually pay. Sounds hard but it's very easy. Full price is 100%, right? Subtract the sale percent from 100 to get the pay percent. Example: If there's a sale for 20% off, then subtract 100-20=80. 80 is the pay percent, the percent you actually pay.

3. Multiply the regular price by the pay percent, and that's the sale price.

   Let's try: regular price is $8.95, and it's on sale for 20% off. Round $8.95 to 9. Calculate pay percent to be 80 (100-20=80). Multiply 9x80=720 (9x8=72, so 9x80=720). The sale price is $7.20.

Tips & Warnings

• If decimals scare you, then use logic. If a $9 item is 20% off, logic tells you the final price can't be $72 or $.72; $7.20 makes sense.

• If an item is 25% off, you can figure out the discount for 20% off and 30% off and know that the final price is halfway between.

• If you have kids, this is a great real-world example of why they should learn their multiplication tables!

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish