Mia Tocco

Over the course of a couple years, the idea of “Girl Math” gained traction on Tik Tok, as many girls explained their way through their spending habits, rationalizing it by calling it “Girl Math.” While every persons’ definition of “Girl Math” is different, the general idea is the same, rationalizing spending or lack of spending.

Recently, “Girl Math” has gained a new-found popularity on TikTok. The idea of “Girl Math” was created by a New Zealand based radio show, Fletch, however the term is now commonly used due to creators and influencers using the term on TikTok. Here are some basic rules of “Girl Math”:

• Things that were bought a long time ago, so much so that you forgot about them, are free. 

This is a common thought among the community and it is the idea that if the person forgot they bought the item, then the money wasn’t really spent because they didn’t realize they missed the money anyway.

• Spending more money to get free shipping on online orders.

Even though the consumer ended up spending more money, it was all money spent on products instead of money on shipping, which is more enticing to the average “Girl Mathematician”.

• Comparing the price of the item/purchase to the amount of coffee or drinks one could buy with the same amount of money. 

Unlike many other “Girl Math” strategies, this method can actually help save money instead of spending money. One TikTok creator, @notselinayang, shared her method of comparing everything to the price of a boba tea (which usually costs around $5-6) or comparing everything to a McDonalds meal set (which is also around the same price). This helped her compare whether her purchase was worth that of # of boba teas or # of McDonalds meal sets.

• If you pay for something in cash, it’s free. 

Cash, for some people, seems less important than numbers in a bank account or on a credit card, so many feel as though it “doesn’t count” as long as the purchase is made with cash.

• In addition to the previous point, if it is gift cards or money gifted to you, it doesn’t count and can be spent without repercussions.

Sometimes, for birthdays and holidays, people get money or gift cards as gifts. Instead of seeing the purchases made with these gifts as legit, it is often deemed as not an expense, just because it isn’t at the expense of the consumer.

• Returning an item is making money.

Instead of thinking that you are getting your money back, returning an item means you are getting an extra paycheck! Which then, you can buy something else with, all without spending any money.

These are just a few big guidelines to “Girl Math”, and the definition of “Girl Math” could be different from person to person, however this will at least help shine some light on the ever-changing subject.