Caleb paid \( \$ 25.60 \), including a \( 5 \% \) sales tax, for a security wallet. How much did the wallet itself cost?

To find the cost of the wallet without tax, we can start by letting the price of the wallet be \( x \). Since there’s a 5% sales tax, the total cost can be represented as: \[ x + 0.05x = 1.05x \] We know the total cost is \( \$25.60 \), so we set up the equation: \[ 1.05x = 25.60 \] To find \( x \), divide both sides by 1.05: \[ x = \frac{25.60}{1.05} \approx 24.38 \] Thus, the cost of the wallet itself is approximately \( \$24.38 \).