John went to the stores to buy Christmas presents for his kids. He spent 2 thirds of his money at a book store. He then spent 1 third of the remaining money at a craft store. At the end he had 8 dollars left. How much did he have in the beginning

He had $36 in the beginning

Step-by-step explanation:

We are asked to calculate how much John has after making some series of purchases. Let's proceed.

Now, let the initial amount of money John had be $X. Let's keep this

He initially spends 2/3 at a bookstore, the fraction unspent is 1/3. Since x is our figure, the amount unspent is $x/3

Now, he spent 1/3 of this at a craft store. This means he didn't spend 2/3 of this and it corresponds to $8.

This mathematically means:

2/3 * $x/3 = $8

2x/9 = $8

2x = $72

x = $72/2 = $36