Ever paid for a ridiculously expensive drink in cash, hence it was free?

Or spent an extra 30 bucks just to get free shipping?

Welcome to the mental gymnastics of girl math.

Like most viral memes these days, girl math has some nuance to it.

On the other hand, its an unnecessarily gendered term reinforcing problematic stereotypes that equate women with consumption.

What is girl math?

Basically, girl dinner was a whole other can of worms.

(A literal can of worms: Perfect example of a girl dinner.)

Like girl dinner, girl math is meant to be cheeky and relatable.

Weve all made a financially unsound decision that we justify with irrational leaps of logic.Cash is free money!

Buying something on sale means Im making a profit!

Witnessing this meme spread firsthand, I saw thatgirl math was created by the girls, for the girls.

Its cant be about womenactuallybeing stupid; its tongue-in-cheek.

Boy math emerged not too long afteralso created by the girls.

But where girl math made fun of irresponsible spending, boy math tended to mock excessive frugality.

And those gender lines are where my issues lie.

And on a more personal note, Im no stranger to using this questionable logic on myself.

Now Im going to lean into my comedy brain more than my personal finance brain.

Girl math is a modern repackaging of women be shopping.

Whenever I put a meme under a microscope, Im told its not that deep.

What we find funny reflects what we find true.

The idea of cutting back on spending is abstract and hard to achieve.

Instead, you need specific, attainable goals to guide your spending.

A simple tip to avoid unnecessary purchases is to write down the things you want to buybeforeyou buy them.

What it comes down to is feeling confident that youre spending only on things you love.

After all, we all have a money storyand its never as simple as Im bad with money.

For more,check out these stepsto start healing your relationship with money.

When youre not wasting money on things you dont love, you will make much better big financial decisions.

Allow yourself to indulge, especially if these indulgences improve your overall relationship with your moneyno matter your gender.