Have you ever thought the same way? You are not alone. This is part of a trend called “girl math,” which frames spending and budgeting in a humorous way. It can help people approach self-care purchases with less stress. However, over-relying on this logic can lead to poor financial decisions and a cycle of constant spending that causes you to be stuck in the “hedonic treadmill.” 

Despite its playful nature, it’s important to use girl math mindfully. This article will explore the psychology of girl math, self-care, and the hedonic treadmill. So, girl-math your way to life without compromising your happiness and wallet.

What is “girl math”?

“Girl math” is a term popularized through TikTok, particularly among women. It’s a whimsical approach to justify one’s spending decisions. It is often a self-deprecating joke to poke fun at one’s financial decisions. 

According to TikTok Creative Center’s data, the popularity of the hashtag #girlmath started to rise in July 2023 and reached its peak in October 2023. Until August 2024, the hashtag was used by approximately 155k posts worldwide. 

Girl math and mental accounting

Essentially, girl math is just a form of mental accounting. An American economist, Richard Thaler, defined mental accounting as “the set of cognitive operations used by individuals and households to organize, evaluate, and keep track of financial activities.” With this cognitive process, people tend to allocate their money into various accounts (e.g., household expenses, savings, entertainment, etc.) and treat them differently. 

As girl math involves justifying spending through creative budgeting methods, it often leads to financial decisions prioritizing immediate enjoyment over long-term stability. While this helps simplify financial decisions, it can lead to poor choices if not managed carefully.

For example, girl math often involves people maintaining separate budgets for “fun money” and “household needs,” which can lead to overspending on fun activities. They perceive the money allocated for fun as “extra cash,” distinct from their main budget. 

Below are some girl math examples and the mental accounting behind it:

“An item that originally cost $200 is on 50% sale. That means I just made $100 and I can spend it on other things.”

People may see the $100 discount as “extra money” instead of a reduction in the cost of that item. This leads to the idea that the “extra money” is the available funds they can spend on other items.

“It is better to buy an additional item that costs $50 to get free shipping instead of paying a $15 shipping fee.”

In this context, individuals treat the shipping fee and the additional purchase as two different “accounts.” The shipping fee is considered a fixed cost associated with the purchase. Spending the additional $50 is considered justifiable as it allows individuals to avoid this fixed cost. 

“I bought the concert ticket a year ago. So on the day of the concert, the ticket cost is basically free.”

This thought could be explained by the sunk-cost effect, which is the greater tendency to continue something once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made. So, the purchased ticket is now considered mentally “spent” and no longer part of the present budget. 

Girl math and self-care

A study published in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment considers self-care as proactive steps to enhance one’s resilience and well-being.

The study asserts that self-care practices have two main aims: limiting the negative and enhancing the positive outcomes. Additionally, they highlighted that self-care requires a holistic approach that incorporates various domains of life. The domains are: 

• Physical
• Professional
• Relationship
• Emotional
• Psychological
• Spiritual

Self-care practices fall within the emotional domain in relation to girl math purchases. In this domain, self-care practices are activities that minimize negative experiences and promote happiness and well-being. 

This is supported by a study on hedonic product consumption. The products that are mainly characterized by affective and sensory experiences that provide experiential enjoyment, excitement, and pleasure are referred to as hedonic products. The study shows that frequent consumption of low-cost hedonic products can enhance one’s happiness.

In engaging in these self-care practices, people may often use “girl math” to rationalize these purchases. A study that explored emotions’ role in financial decision-making could explain this. 

They highlighted how individuals can experience a strong emotional pull towards spending, driven by the belief that it will improve their mood or make them feel better in the short term. This instant gratification can overshadow more rational financial planning. They also found that consumers often rationalize their spending, even if it hurts their finances because they feel immediate emotional benefits from their purchases.

In simple terms, self-care is often used as a rationalization for “girl math purchases.” But while rationalizing like this may provide short-term happiness, people should be more mindful of girl math. Not being mindful of their justifications can trap people in the “hedonic treadmill.”

Girl math and the hedonic treadmill

There are two main approaches to pursuing happiness: hedonic (seeking pleasure and comfort) and eudaimonic (seeking purpose and growth). Research from the University of Rochester suggests combining both for a balanced life.

Girl math can help fulfill hedonic motives by making spending on pleasures seem more justifiable. However, you should be more mindful of your pursuit of pleasure, as it could lead you to be stuck on a “hedonic treadmill” or “hedonic adaptation.” It is the phenomenon of pursuing one pleasure after another.

This endless pursuit occurs due to the initial surge of happiness from a pleasurable experience. However, it eventually returns to its stable baseline. So, no matter how often you achieve peak pleasure, the happiness will eventually wear off.

This cycle is a normal experience. However, failing to manage one’s pursuit of happiness generates various negative consequences, such as:

• Lower life satisfaction. Engaging in unhealthy pleasure-seeking behaviors could lower one’s life satisfaction and flourishing. Therefore, girl-math-ing your purchases in the name of happiness is irrelevant, as pursuing pleasure does not guarantee your overall sense of satisfaction with life.
• Overconsumption. The hedonic treadmill can drive individuals to overconsumption. The never-ending pursuit of happiness through material possessions hurts your wallet. So, solely trusting your girl math and prioritizing your pleasures would eventually be bad for your finances.

Read more: Managing Post-Concert Depression and Breaking Free From the Hedonic Treadmill

Techniques for mindful spending

Indeed, individuals must prioritize self-care, and girl math can be a helpful tool for it. However, doing this all the time can be bad for your happiness and personal finances. Therefore, you must be more mindful of your financial decisions. Below are some ways where you can be more mindful of your purchases and not be easily swayed by girl math:

Be more aware of your spending habits

When you are about to purchase something, your girl math rationalization probably strengthens your motivation to buy it. However, you should be more aware of your spending habits. This is important for you to avoid the impulsive urge to purchase things driven by your girl math rationalization. 

To do so, you should reflect on the money you have spent lately. This means you should track your spending and understand how these expenses align with your needs and financial goals. 

Therefore, regularly checking your account balance and history would help you gain the necessary insights. You’ll understand your spending habits and adjust.

So, before you decide to buy that particular item for self-care, make sure you check your account balance and history first. This could help you protect your financial health instead of succumbing to the temporary satisfaction from those purchases.

Set clear goals and budgets

To avoid overconsumption, it is important for you to set clear financial goals and budgets.

This will give you direction in ensuring that your money is spent on what truly matters to you. It will also help you avoid impulsive purchases that seem rational due to girl math calculations. 

Below are the steps to do so:

1. Reflect. Know your priorities and values, especially about money.
2. Budget. Once you have realized what area to prioritize to spend your money on, create a budget plan to allocate your expenses. You could use the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, where you allocate the percentage of your income into three groups: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings.
3. Make a visible reminder. This will prevent you from being tempted to do unnecessary girl math shopping. You could put a reminder on your phone wallpaper, bedroom wall, or fridge.

Read more: Efficient Budgeting: Optimizing Your Financial Management

Find non-material forms of self-care

To be happy, you should not solely focus on materialistic things. You could still engage in emotional self-care practices that do not require more money.

You should also attend to your other life domains that also need self-care. As previously mentioned, there are many more domains of life in which you could direct your self-care practices. To do so, take a moment to reflect on each of these domains and list down ways to practice self-care in these domains. 

Whether it is through going for a run, practicing yoga, reconnecting with your friends, and so on, the options are limitless.

Read more: Love Languages and Self-Care: Nurturing Yourself According to Your Unique Needs

In conclusion

Indeed, girl math could make self-care purchases less daunting. Unfortunately, the ease does not come without risks. The continuous and unconscious use of girl math can trap you on the hedonic treadmill, leading to overconsumption and lower life satisfaction. 

This does not mean that you should abandon self-care practices to be frugal. Instead, find the balance between prioritizing self-practices and still being responsible with your spending behavior. 

So, ensure the girl math trend won’t compromise your happiness and wallet.

If you would like to see more resources on self-care & hedonic treadmill, check out the Happiness Science Labs. The lab uses the research of the Institute for Life Management Science to produce courses, certifications, podcasts, videos, and other tools. Visit the Happiness Science Labs today.

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