“If I buy this top, then my sister can wear it too… so basically it’s half-price!”
“I bought it with cash, so it felt like it was free.”
“If I buy these now, I won’t have to buy them later, so I’m saving money!”
We’ve all been there. Justifying a purchase either to ourselves, our friends, or our mothers before (or after) we swipe our cards.
This habit of getting creative with a price breakdown has gathered traction being deemed “Girl Math” online for the last few years. Though it is silly by nature, the trend has come under fire at times for being a means of justifying overspending, and poor financial decisions. However, I believe there is some good to come out of the Girl Math trend’s popularity and rising usage.
First off, as the term Girl Math has become more popularized for its relatability and humour, I feel this mental justifying gymnastics is a fluffy way of shedding light on an important deeper message: women want to feel confident and valid in our financial decisions.
Is this a reach? I argue no, and if you’re not on board yet think of it this way: would you rather leave a store with a shiny bag in hand and think “wow I’m so excited for these purchases” or “wow that was a lot of money spent”? I personally would choose the former scenario where I’m not stressed about the money because it was a justified purchase.
Furthermore, think about it, why do we get creative with the price breakdowns of our “wants?” Would we still do this elaborate mental Girl Math if we had an unlimited personal money supply and didn’t have to feel guilty about spending money? Probably not.
We want to feel good about our purchases and sometimes, it’s easier to be silly and justify them than work through the “what do I have to sacrifice for this?” or answer truthfully “is this worth it?”
Seeing this trend’s deeper meaning under its breezy and humorous shell encourages us to sit down and reflect on this mass feminine urge and how to meet it. Perhaps this means an emphasis on seeking out more financial education (FuturFund can fix that), more self restraint (that one’s on you), and more future-focused thinking (let’s partner on this one).
The trend also forces us to confront how we use this term. In the words of Reese Witherspoon in How Do You Know (a classic 2010 romcom), “Never drink to feel better, only drink to feel even better.” This logic, though she’s referring originally to beer, loosely applies to the use of Girl Math too. Yes, it’s arguably part of our modern girlhood culture, but let’s only use Girl Math to feel even better about smart money moves, not to feel better about bad ones.
So in my parting note to the ladies, this blog post isn’t a call to cold turkey quit using Girl Math, nor is it a cancel culture instance of critiquing fellow women online who joke about Girl Math. Instead, I encourage you to take care of you and keep Girl Math as our little joke—not a serious method of justifying those bad calls.
You’ve got this and happy (responsible) Girl Math-ing!
