Posted on 08/18/2023 10:30:49 PM PDT by Saije
All over TikTok, “girl math” is being used to justify almost any purchase, from everyday things like $5 coffees to big-ticket items like concert tickets. While everyone’s version of girl math is different, it typically involves rationalizing your spending in often illogical ways.
Say you buy your daily coffee with cash, rather than your credit card — it’s basically free, according to girl math. Or perhaps you make an expensive purchase, like a designer handbag — just use girl math to break the price down on a “cost per wear” basis so it doesn’t seem as pricey as it really is.
However, it’s not necessarily a healthy outlook.
“It’s like burying your head in the sand,” says Tori Dunlap, a self-made millionaire and founder of financial education platform “Her First $100k.”
On TikTok, there are hundreds of videos tagged as “girl math,” with some amassing millions of views. And although these videos may be intended as a joke, the trend may inadvertently normalize poor spending decisions, Dunlap tells CNBC Make It.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Girl math I’ve been exposed to usually doesnt work. Not the way they think it does.
Millennials/gen-z never fail to amuse.
When something costs $100, but is 40% off, buying it makes you $40. I had this discussion with my secretary. As G-d as my witness, this is absolutely true. Women think in a different dimension than men do.
My sister (RIP) had this attitude 30 years ago. She’d buy something she didn’t need, or even knew that she wanted. “But it was 50% off - how could I NOT buy it!?”
My daughter rents a place with an okay fridge included. She works at a store and they had a display model fridge they were trying to get rid of. It was on the small side, but about the same size as her fridge in the rental. Brand new it was $800 or something. It was down at $300 and she wondered if she should buy it. I told her it would be more hassle than it was worth when she moved some day.
After a few more weeks it was down to $50! She was REALLY tempted to buy it, but didn’t. If I thought she would have the inclination to sell it at a profit I would have told her to buy it.
But she doesn’t have the inclination, and if it won’t sell for more than $50 at a box store she probably wouldn’t be able to sell it for much more than that out of her garage.
Oh. And it was red.
A smallish red reefer? No wonder the box store couldn’t sell it.
Now that I read the article my wife uses “girl math” when it comes to gift cards for restaurants.
We’ll go to our normal restaurant with a $50 gift card from somebody. Instead of it covering a regular meal for us (with some left over) she’ll get the better cut of steak, appetizers, better wine and more glasses, etc.
Bill comes out to $90. “But with the gift card its the same as if we just ate our regular meal!”
And then on the way home she’ll complain about how she ate too much!
We don’t go out that often though, so I have learned to indulge her. And I guess that is the point of a “gift” - it’s to be a bit special, rather than just covering the costs of typical expenses.
Yeah. If she had a home it would make for a good garage fridge.
I bought an apartment size fridge at Home Depot for less than $200. It’s white, of course.
I put it in my 5th-wheel trailer when the $1,000 gas-fired mobile fridge died. Don’t need an expensive mobile fridge when I have a generator.
Still better than government maffs.
Just like people get excited about their tax “rebate”
This explains the explosion in US federal debt following passage of women’s suffrage.
Also known as "Biden math."
Regards,
I had an airman working me in my mil years. One day, he walks into the BX, and there is a mountain bike there on sale...was $5,000 and now priced at $4,100.
He’s about to buy it but notes that complete bike doesn’t exist (no light), so he gets the gal to take off $300.
He then notes scratches on the paint...another $500 off.
When he’s done with all issues...he’s convinced them to sell the new $5k bike for about $1,500. I had just finished reading Trump’s book (The Art of the Deal...it’d been out a decade by then), and I gave him the book to read (after buying the bike). He had natural talents.
Repeal the 19th Amendment
Stupid people math is more like it.
Sort of like Girl voting habits, eh?
I use a version of Girl Math and have taught it to my sons.
Definitely use the “cost per use” calculation before buying anything expensive.
I tend to put 200K miles on a car over 20 years. I also believe that spending $500 per month on a car (payment or repairs) is fair, as long as the car meets my needs. Fuel, insurance and tax are in addition to this. Where we live, this equals about one average Uber trip per day. As the cars age, and I pay off any loan, and the maintenance costs rise. If they average over $500/month on a rolling 12 month basis, I think seriously about getting rid of the car.
My engineer son bought a BMW X2 figuring he would own it 10 years. He only drives about 6000 miles/year. He saved up and bought it for $39K new, including a pre-paid maintenance plan. That works out to $325/month.
Sometimes using the per-cost-of-use method is very revealing.
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