“Girl Math” has been taking over social media. The new trend has a lot of people making sense of, and poking fun at, the thought processes they have when it comes to spending money. Everyone, in some way or another, has justified their bad spending habits. The trend, though, is helping people feel less alone in their financial irresponsibility.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has gotten a hold of “Girl Math” and has created examples of “Boy Math,” “Black Mom Math” and “Grandma Math.” As the terms developed and evolved, the examples became less about financial irresponsibility and more about common behaviors amongst various demographic groups.

But “Girl Math” has consistently highlighted patterns in women’s spending habits.

“Girl math” Might Be Accurate

One of the biggest examples of “Girl Math” is that if a vacation is paid for months in advance, once it’s time for the actual trip, it’s considered free. This thought process can make sense to a lot of people since the responsibility of having to pay for a majority of the trip was handled so long ago. It almost feels like you didn’t pay for anything. This idea of thinking can easily be linked to the term, “out of sight out of mind.”

Another idea of “Girl Math” is that any purchase you make with cash is free. This can make sense if you’re the type of person who prefers digital transactions. The cash you use to pay doesn’t necessarily “exist” so it’s hard to acknowledge the spending. Your actual bank account wasn’t affected by this transaction so, it’s like you didn’t lose a thing.

One last example of “Girl Math” is that it is completely worth adding more items to your online cart to get free shipping. According to the terms of “Girl Math” you’re actually saving money by adding one or two more items to the cart to reach the “free shipping on orders of $150 or more” expectations that many sites offer.

A Word on “Girl Math”

“Girl Math” doesn’t have to make sense to everyone but its important to remember that this is all a joke online. Please make sure you are being smart with your finances. A little bit of frivolous spending is acceptable on occasion but don’t let a social media trend have you going bankrupt. Spend safely, sis!