Thanks to a Kiwi radio station, the term' girl math' blew up on Tik Tok last year. Is it really something new? No, it’s been around for a very long time. Should it be taken seriously? Maybe, it’s a way we talk about justifying our financial behaviour, this one is in a light-hearted fun way.
Guys, you will be scratching your head a little bit about this and wondering what on earth this “Girl Math’ thing is. But if you are in a relationship, you are more than likely to have been on the receiving end of it when you (in a loving way of course) ask the question about a recent purchase.
This is for us girls, who, when we get together, have a great time laughingly explaining financial justifications and rationalising our decisions.
It goes something like this: “I’ve just spent $200 on a new dress for Gill’s wedding”. “You’ll get lots of wear out of it” your girlfriend replies “There’s Xmas, birthday parties, don’t forget the work event” pipes up another one, “it’s an absolute bargain, at only $20.00 per wear.” This is where the conversation ends up. That’s girl math!
To our rational brain, it is totally illogical. And it is, but with any justification bias, we do it to justify our behaviour, particularly if deep down we know it’s not the best decision. We will find a way to make it right.
One of my personal favourites, and I hear this a lot. “It was on sale, so I saved $??”. My response to this is, ‘would you have bought it if it wasn’t on sale?” The answer to this question will often spark the ‘girl math’ justification, and it isn’t always coming from the girl! As an aside, have you noticed that quite often the till receipt shows how much you have ‘saved’. Maybe trying to encourage you to spend the savings too.
It’s not only women who behave this way. I’d love to hear from a few guys who may have spent up to the $value to get the free shipping. Or bought the second whatever to get it for half price. I’m sure there are lots of stories about this topic to be shared.
This is all about the psychology of spending. Right now, when businesses are all fighting to get our discretionary $ you will see a lot more of these types of deals trying to tempt us to spend more.
Girl math might be intended to be light-hearted, but our emotions, the situation and logic all play into how we make spending decisions. Once we have made them, then the justification and rationalisation bias kicks in so those decisions become ‘right’.
If you have the discretionary income, or have the money set aside to top up the purchase to get free shipping, or whatever the deal is, great. No harm done.
It’s where you are getting caught up in the marketing hype and you don’t have the resources to spend that way, and you have your little inner voice justifying your decision; that you then repeat to your partner when they get upset with you. That’s when you need to slow down and take the time to really think about the decision you are making, and is it the best one for you.
Lynda Moore is a Money Mentalist coach and New Zealand’s only certified New Money Story® mentor. Lynda helps you understand why you do the things you do with your money, when we all know we should spend less than we earn. You can contact her here.
16 Comments
Thanks for the article. I get that this is light-hearted and thanks for writing/ publishing it.
I think the term girl math would be considered insulting depending on the speaker. Thus its usefulness is likely restricted to frivolous social media use.
What would be more interesting to understand is whether gender has anything at all to do with this concept. Could there be a difference in perception between the primary money earner for the household vs. a secondary earner or unpaid home- maker?
Their attitudes to spending probably revolve around the different roles.
Right now, when businesses are all fighting to get our discretionary $ you will see a lot more of these types of deals trying to tempt us to spend more.
My experience differs substantially, many retailers are understaffed with long wait times to make purchases, their stores are messy and there are many empty shelf sections. They are not typically utilising discounting or promotions. I was tempted to buy a new Ford Mustang, a car that's been out for a few years now, but the wait time would mean I wouldn't get it until the end of Q1, 2025.
It seems to me businesses are operating at capacity, that's why inflation may well remain sticky - there is no incentive to compete for customers.
"Girl Math" is discriminatory against women on all levels. It is patronizing and treats them as is they are diminutive and ignorant and could not possibly be interested in math from the outset. It denies the real skills of female engineers and mathematicians gone before. If anything it is an assault on the female gender in trying to infantilize women and starts from a principle that because mathematics is not fashion, shopping, cooking, or care they would not be as interested in it. Its not breaking barriers its reinforcing the barriers with huge fricken concrete ones.
Whats even sadder is the "math" they are dealing with is primary school level arithmetic. Yes we need remedial teaching for all adults but its really sad they reduce the potential of women's achievement to primary school levels. Trying to tie in emotional rationalizations for spending that are illogical is exceptionally poor. It directly assumes that women cannot act in logical ways and are bad with savings and money. Compare this with the massive saving & investment culture. It is illogical to assume that acting with emotions is solely the providence of females and it is discriminatory to do so. It is also illogical to not assume emotions affect all genders.
Just take a look at your local Warhammer store and tell me the that an unpainted plastic model of a Cerastus Knight Lancer (fits easily in the palm of your hand) is worth over $480 that you could have 3D printed for less money (including buying the 3D printer) or sculpted for less then $50. If anything there is more evidence that emotions affect male genders more aka the entire culture of the sex sells advertising. There is also evidence that those who play more contact sports are more prone to impulsive purchasing decisions (this is also common in those who suffer repeated concussions, TBI etc). There are also risk profiles for those who have neurodiversity aka ADHD, Autism being more prone to impulsive spending with emotional rationale and being more susceptible to gambling hooks tricks, which notably have a higher prevalence in males (even accounting for diagnosis gaps).
(of note our recent family purchase was a series of inquisition knights... Spanish Inquisition knights. Guess what colour they will be)
Even white knuckle accountants who avoid all speculative risks are still able to be prone to impulsive spending decisions and illogical ones. The gender can be irrelevant... as that latest toy, sports or fashion purchase proves... sure we needed a shirt with jellyfish on for summer... it was nece$$ary.
However the collector markets for investments are an odd mix. Emotional valuations, purchases, but pretty stable in values for "rare" items. Extended over economic shocks and crashes values can still be worth something and the market is built on sustained emotion; see comic fans, Bronies, whisky collectors, art collectors etc. Where the angels share, moisture or UV light can wreck more havoc on the value of your items. Post an economic crisis or during periods of dire need e.g. medical costs for cancer treatment, it is common to see longstanding collectors liquidate their collection and the shock is the value some items reach when an auction environment is designed fairly to allow people to bid in competition.
Spend less than you earn is the essential rule. Many people have violated this rule and faced the consequences of their choice.
Too many people spend money they earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like. ~ Will Rogers
"If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need." - Warren Buffett
This helps to explain why 80% of consumer spending is by women. And why every woman I've dated has been living from paycheck to paycheck. They are good at rationalising spending. That's for sure.
Don't dismiss this as offensive or a generalisation. If it's true, which I think it is, there's something women could learn from it with some self reflection. Sometimes the truth hurts. But it's always the hardest truths that are the most useful.
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