What do you do when you overspend on something you know you probably shouldn't have? Find ways to justify the purchase, of course.
Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley, a New Zealand-based radio show, has a new call-in segment that helps women feel better about their spending with "Girl Maths." Callers describe a recent splurge and the team will come up with a myriad of excuse (both reasonable and utterly illogical) to justify that purchase for you. It's easy to feel less guilty if you can cut the expense down to "basically free."
"It's a lifestyle and it's a delusion," says host Hayley Sproull. Recent examples of "girl math" include:
A $330 designer dress purchase. Even an actual economist can accept an argument that revolves around cost per use and the potential to make some of that upfront cost back on the resale market.
@fvhzm #girlmath with an Economics Expert 🫢 Let us know if you help justifying your spending 🤪 #basicallyfree ♬ original sound - FVHZM
A Dyson airwrap (~$699). Somehow the caller ended up making money here.
@fvhzm #itsbasicallyfree but it's also basically a secondary income 💁♀️ Let us know if you need us to #girlmath ♬ original sound - FVHZM
Tickets to four nights at the Taylor Swift Era tour in Sydney, plus hotel and flights (~$5,600). This one was particularly tricky, but let's just say that the memories and experience is priceless to a true Swiftie.
@fvhzm Replying to @Sarah Dennis Girl Math- The Eras Tour Edition 🫶 Let us know if you need us to justify your spending 🤪 #girlmath #theerastour #itsbasicallyfree ♬ original sound - FVHZM
To add to the trend, here are some basic "Girl Math" rules as described by user mckennaelianna and other TikTok users in the comments:
- Anything under $5 is free
- If you can pay with a gift card, it's free
- If you buy something then return it, you've made money
- If you're going to a concert or event it's free, because you purchased the tickets so long ago
- Anything discounted more than 50 percent is free
- Money stored in Venmo doesn't count
- If you pay in cash, it's free
@mckennaelianna somehow it makes sense #girlmath ♬ original sound - kenna 📚🍷
Not everyone is seeing the fun in "Girl Maths" however. Tiktok finfluencer My Rich BFF Vivian says the trend is reductive and sexist, relying on outdated ways of thinking to justify overspending.
@yourrichbff #stitch with @kenna 📚🍷 Girl math should calcuate how many hours I need to hit my F YOU number. #money #finance #budgeting #savingmoney #investing #learning #credit #debit #debt #wealth #rich #personalfinance #cash #lifehack #girl #women #girlmath #girldinner ♬ original sound - Vivian | Your Rich BFF
What do you think? How do you justify indulgent purchases? Sound off in the comments.
Currencies listed are in NZD, or New Zealand dollar
