You can set up your equation as 1/4x+3/2x = 315, where x is the unknown budget. factor out x to get x(1/4+3/2)=315, finding a common denominator for your ratios gives x(1/4+6/4)=315, which leads to x7/4=315 solving for x you get x=(315*4)/7 which gives x=1260/7 which gives x=180. so the original budget was $180 you can check this by checking to see how much 1/4*180 + 3/2*180 adds up to, which gives $180/4=45 and $540/2=270 and $270+$45=$315 so $180 is the correct original budget
