If you’ve ever found yourself justifying a purchase with some questionable yet oddly convincing logic, congratulations—you’ve participated in girl math. The thought process that goes through your brain when buying a plane ticket for a trip in the summer “welllll I guess I’ll make it back by the time the trip rolls around” or maybe even if you’re making a return you might think “wow I just made $20! This is free money now” cause once it’s already left your bank account it’s a mute point right…? 

Girl math operates on one fundamental principle: if you can explain a purchase in a way that makes it seem like you didn’t really spend money, it doesn’t count. Simple. And it applies to everyone and anyone, unless you’re logical and think normally, then maybe you just don’t get the fun that is girl math. 

I live by some main girl math philosophies that definitely don’t help my financial state, but I think they do. 

• If you pay for something in cash, it’s free. It never hit your bank account, so it was never yours.
• If you buy something on sale, the difference between the original price and the discounted price is actually money you earned.
• If you return an item and get a refund, that’s new money—not just getting your own money back.
• If you buy an expensive pair of shoes for say $100 and wear them 100 times at a dollar per wear, they are free. 
• If you buy concert tickets months in advance, by the time the event happens, it feels like you’re going for free.

Makes sense right? I know, I know, it does sound a tad bit silly, but hey I’m sure you’ve been in a position once or twice where you feel guilty after making a purchase but girl math just justifies that a bit more! 

While girl math is all fun and games, I do know it’s obviously not the most financially sound strategy. It’s easy to get carried away when every purchase can be justified with enough creative reasoning. Suddenly, a $300 designer bag becomes “free” because you skipped your morning latte three times last week. I just can’t help it! Maybe I have a spending problem! 

So what do you think? Is girl math super justifiable? Or just a bad logically thinking?