self Maths Puzzle

A gypsy queen who ekes out a precarious existence by gathering quarters from gullible victims who want the future revealed, laments the decline of the fortune-telling industry as follows:

"The week before last I earned less than three dollars, last week only a third as much and this week somewhat less than half as much as the week before".

How much did she earn in three weeks?

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self Other Question

Bluebeard explains that his bunch of keys was strung upon an endless key ring and divided into three groups so that the first group multiplied by the second equaled the third!

That was the secret by which he knew whether the keys had been tampered with and forbidden chambers had been entered.

You see that 6910 multiplied by 7 does not amount to 83452, so the keys were not replaced properly in their groups.

Can our clever puzzlists show how the keys must have been arranged in three groups so that the first group multiplied by the second makes the third?
Charley Smalleash treats his best girl to a trolley ride, but on account of his limited resources they plan to walk back, so, if the car goes at the rate of nine miles an hour and they can walk at the rate of three miles an hour, how far could they ride if they must be back in eight hours?