If “girl dinner” wasn’t enough, TikTok is now pushing the idea of “girl math,” but the viral trend is much less about women’s arithmetic ability, and much more about the mental gymnastics some of us use to justify purchases. The trend, which has been circulating on the app for months, describes a hilarious – and incredibly problematic — view of finances.
“Anything under five dollars feels like it’s pretty much free” one user says, which honestly feels a little true. We all need a treat once in a while, and if it’s less than five bucks, it’s all the sweeter. It’s obvious that something paid for isn’t free, but sometimes, it’s easier to indulge the desire rather than face logic.
Another user justifies her eyewatering $1000+ iPad Air as an investment that will, “give [her] financial freedom” so the iPad is, in effect, “paying her.” After returning a recently purchased pair of headphones for a ghastly near $400 in-store credit, and add in the convenient fact that ”Girl Math doesn’t include tax,” so the iPad was half off! Obviously, that broke college student just dropped over a grand on something she otherwise wouldn’t have purchased, but that’s girl math for you.
While most of the people participating in the trends are making reasonable purchases, some have taken it to the next level. It takes some serious girl math to justify skipping an oil change and jumping straight to a new car.
Other users are edging for less ridiculous purchases. Girl Math also works for calculating investments, like a tube of $40 lip gloss. If that baby lasts 40 uses, then it was essentially one dollar.
The mental gymnastics at work in some of these videos are out of control, but some are right on the money. Target is where shopping lists go to die, and where a $5 Starbucks drink is practically free.
Girl money is all about justifying purchases. It might not be good math – or really anything math-adjacent — but at least it’s pretty easy to understand. If my bank account doesn’t go down, it’s free and If my bank account goes up, it’s profit. Girl Math.