math question I can't figure out?

50 dollars from mom and 50 dollars from dad. You then give 97 to cashier.

Cashier has 97 you have 3.

You then give 1 to mom and 1 to dad.

Cashier has 97, you have 1, mom has 1, dad has 1. 97+1+1+1 = 100

You do owe both parents 49$. 2*49 = 98. This is because you used 97 dollars and kept 1 for yourself.

You can't add the money you owe them to the money you have left, because

Money owed = Money spent + money kept.

(remember you borrowed all the money.)

It doesn't make sense to add those numbers.

Money owed + money kept = ??? uneccesarily increased debt??

Those numbers aren't supposed to add up to 100.

Suppose the jacket cost 75, you borrow 50 from Mom and 50 from Dad. You have 25 in change and you give 10 to Mom and 10 to Dad, keeping 5. Now you ow them 40 each and have 5. 40 + 40 + 5 = 85. So what? Those numbers don't mean anything.

Back to your problem.

You have a jacket worth $97 and $1, so 98 in "assets."

You owe each of the 49. 49x2 = 98 in "liabilitiies."

Your Mom and Dad started with 50 each, and end up with $1 + IOU for $49 = $50 again, so they are in balance too.

49+49+1 is the sum of your liabilities and one of your assets, and is a totally meaningless number. It's close enough to 100 to make you think it should be 100.

In my example, you had

Assets: jacket worth 75 + 5 in cash = 80

Liabilities: you owe 40x2 = 80

Those are the numbers that need to add up.

Not 40+40+5 = 85, which means nothing.

You kept it yourself!