Girl math: Just a social media term?

Girl math? You've probably heard this term on social media, memes, or daily conversations with your bestie. So what exactly is girl math? Does this include stocks and the share market? Financial skills, or is this some magical formula that turns your shopping spree into an investment? Girls possess a superpower, a masterclass in budgeting (or wishful thinking). Welcome to the world of girl math, the most creative financial system outside mathematics, which would make Einstein scratch his head. 

So, where did all this start? Some say it all started with TikTok, where girls posted videos explaining how they saved money. Or you can say Girlmath is a mindset or lens through which only women view purchases. It's a fun way of justifying a new impulsive purchase of a clutch, a shoe you hardly need or that extra coffee that somehow became a necessary expense.

While others mock or make thousands of memes, women proudly declare they don't count certain expenses, justifying purchases with surprisingly relatable logic. Regardless of origin, girl math is spreading like wildfire. 

Starting with the classic girl math. If something is on sale, you're saving money by buying it even if you don't need that dress. BDT 1000 dress on a sale of BDT 600? That's saving 400 bucks. But since it's half off (almost), you can't possibly let that deal slip away. It was a win-win situation where you got that dress and saved a lot of money by not paying for it. According to Girl Math, purchase this now and thank yourself later after getting compliments and thinking about how you practically made money by shopping—moving on with online transactions.

Buying something without real money (no, online transactions aren't real money) is like getting it for free. Besides, this segment deserves a huge bill when it's about hobbies.

Be it travelling, collecting plants, or even shopping, you can't simply let your only source of entertainment be underfunded, right? Similarly, if the shipping cost is 80 taka and you purchase another item (probably you won't need to pay for it) worth 700 taka, we can offer you free shipping. Girl Math will teach you to buy both items for a discounted shipping fee. Cause who wants to pay shipping fees?

Besides, if you plan to wear a dress or boots every day, it's not a waggish purchase. If the leather jacket is BDT 2500, even though it's a little expensive, you will wear it all winter. If you calculate that over that period, it's less than 20 bucks each day. What a deal! Both logic and math are getting a serious hit.

But your other five winter clothes are screaming for some sun you previously thought you would wear daily—shifting focus on where girl math equals sacrifice. Assume an impulsive purchase of an expensive clutch, and now you're looking for ways to justify it. You decided to skip lunch for a week to make yourself feel better. Sure! When will intermittent fasting come in handy? Skipping a meal doesn't make you hungry; you save money minus health hazards.

But moving on to the next, where logic truly shines, what's a better way to reward yourself after a long day at work than purchasing something special? This is a reward for the hard work you just put in because you aren't some money-making machine; you deserve a treat.

Well, it's not shopping but self-care, and you deserve that. Last, we have a cult classic,  the "I'll start saving tomorrow" trick. Girl math tells you that one previous doughnut isn't a big deal because starting tomorrow, you'll start saving, so this is the last day being extravagant. No, it's not something that will count because look at the bright side, no? But the thing is, when is the "tomorrow"? Nobody knows. It's just something around the corner. 

Though it's a fun trend, it has critics as not everyone is on board with girl math. According to them, it's a way of avoiding financial responsibility by disregarding the actual cost of purchase, which can lead to overspending. Experts say justifying shopping habits with questionable logic doesn't demonstrate a long-term economic strategy. But hey! It's a fun way of being financially savvy, and everything adds up in a world of girl math. So if someone questions your financial logic, smile and say, "It's girl math; you won't understand".

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