Sept. 14, 2023 "Is that $5 coffee actually free? How TikTok's 'girl math' trend is changing the online money conversation": Today I found this article by Anis Heydari on CBC:
Is your morning coffee free of charge because you bought it with a pre-paid card?
Are you losing money if you walk past a retail sale without buying something?
Is that item free because you paid for it with cash?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be familiar with the concept of "girl math," a recent TikTok trend that where people explain their personal rationales for spending decisions that may not make traditional financial (or mathematical) sense.
Investment advisors and personal finance experts say as long as the explanations are treated as just for fun, girl math can actually encourage financial transparency and open up discussions about money.
"Basically, girl math is mentally counting," explained Alyssa Davies, the founder of financial blog Mixed Up Money and a TikTok creator based in Chestermere, Alta.
"It's not just women that do this," she said. "We all do this sort of rationalizing when it comes to our expenses."
But the girl math trend can take rationalizing spending to a new level.
"We have already earned $150," says TikTok creator vialsss after finding a MacBook, regularly priced at $1,450, on sale for $1,300 in a video with the hashtag #girlmath.
The girl math rationale here is that by finding the item on sale, the $150 price difference is earned money.
A fun trend not to be taken too seriously
"Return something at Zara for $50, bought something else that was $100, it only cost me $50. Girl math," explained TikTok user samjamessssss in a video that's been liked more than 628,000 times.
The original $50, normally accounted for in a budget, doesn't count in this case because it was already spent.
Davies says these kinds of mental gymnastics are all in fun and are really about how people decide whether purchases are worth it.
"Overall, I do think it's something that's just to be taken lightly and not too seriously," she told CBC News.
According to Davies, part of the appeal of girl math is that it makes it easier to talk about money and purchases in general, despite the stigma many feel around discussing finances in public.
"When a trend like this appears where we can share these sort of interests that we all didn't realize other people might have, we feel so much less alone," she said.
Traditional advisors urge caution
More traditional financial advisors, such as Jordan Dawes, have embraced some money talk trends on TikTok, but say Canadians should be careful when taking monetary or banking advice from social media platforms.
"I would hope that it's used for humour and not taken literally," said Dawes, who is based outside of Victoria. "But I've been around enough financial institutions to know that people can take those things seriously."
A TikTok creator himself, Dawes says he tends to offer more traditional financial advice, but notes that as long as Canadians who engage in "girl math" are following some key principles, they'll be fine.
"Do whatever you need that makes you happy. Live in the moment," he said.
"Just make sure a small amount is going towards long term savings."
Sam Lichtman, a financial advisor based in London, Ont., echoes that advice and offers additional caution for Canadians who may base their entire budgets on how online creators handle their finances.
"It gets to cross the line when people start talking about
where they invest their money,
how you should invest your money
and what amounts they're putting on debt,
and if you should be doing the same thing," said Lichtman.
Is 'girl math' sexist?
The term girl math has been called "infantilizing," according to Davies, who told CBC News she understands that criticism, but feels there's no harm in the phrase.
She calls it "gen Z slang" and says the trend is worthwhile because it helps puts women at the centre of financial conversations that might not happen otherwise.
Though she acknowledges that negative stereotypes exist around women and money, Davies doubts the girl math trend is responsible for them.
"This is a trend created by women for women. And that's what makes it feel a little bit less icky for me."
In the end, she said, sound financial principles remain the same, even if the math is gendered.
"You have to know how much money is coming in every single month and how much money is going out," said Davies.
"If you're aware of that and you're spending money and you're doing the girl math, it's OK."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tiktok-girl-math-1.6965446
2022: The Year of Personal Decluttering/ Do you want to go to Las Vegas with me?
Sept. 20, 2017 A guy who bought a box of condoms:
Cut to 2000. It was Fri. night. Probably Just for Laughs.
It was in May or Jun. 2000.
When I was 14 yrs old I was checking out Comedy Network. This 20-something yr old guy with curly blond hair and he was wearing a nice light blue button down shirt and khakis.
He was handsome.
He was smiling. He has his hands in his pockets.
Guy: So the other day I bought a box of condoms.
There is a pause. The audience is silent.
A guy in the audience yells out: Ow, yeah!
Pause.
Guy: Because my last one was expired.
The audience laughs.
I was like: "That's the cleanest sex joke I've ever heard."
I never thought I would say that.
Apr. 3, 2023 My opinion: He's making a joke about himself.
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/04/2022-year-of-personal-decluttering-do.html
The Simpsons: Homer sells cans of grease for money in the episode "Lard of the Dance."
Homer: I'm trying to achieve financial independence.
Marge: Through cans of grease?
Homer: No, through savings and wise investments. Of course, through grease!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701149/
Sept. 16, 2023 Time is money: I'm sure we have all heard of this saying.
I look for American cash: This reminds me of how earlier this year, I went to Las Vegas. My grandma gave me $10. 55 in American coins the day before my trip.
After lunch, I went and looked around my house for 45 min. to look for American coins. I looked into 2 bowls of loose change and then other parts of the home.
I found $2.10.
I found some other coins like Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Lesson: I'm sure some of you are like: "If I knew I was only going to be able to find this small amount of money, I wouldn't look for the money at all."
I didn't know how much money I was going to find.
If I knew it was going to be this small amount of money, I still would have looked for the money because then I'll wonder "What if?"
I also did some cleaning and organizing as I was looked for change.
There are a lot of things in life where you have to do something and not know what the outcome is going to be.
You can mitigate risks by doing some research.
Job interviews: That reminds me of attending job interviews. You prepare and attend the interview, but you don't know if you're going to get hired and/ or if you want to work there.
You have to attend the interview to find out if you want to work there or if the boss will hire you.
Oct. 6, 2023 Paid survey sites: I wrote about this on Aug. 2023 blog post:
"The 16 Best Paid Survey Sites in Canada"/ LEO surveys
- Last month, "girl math" went viral as women joked about justifying indulgent spending.
- Now, "boy math" has made its debut as a way to criticize embarrassing or gross male behavior.
- Boy math has gone so mainstream that at least one politician has contributed to the trend.
First, there was "girl math": The humorous trend saw women justifying indulgent purchases by breaking the payment into fractions or saying an outfit was worth it because they'd wear it multiple times. It took off in August, and a hashtag for it has reached more than 490 million views on TikTok.
Now, behold "boy math." Instead of finance or decadent spending, this craze is centered on joking about some of men's most ridiculous habits — for example, the particular relatable and perennial problem of guys saying they're 6 feet tall when they're actually only 5'10. While some posts reference actual math, the overwhelming majority are a bit more abstract.
Some internet users have pitted "boy math" and "girl math" against each other, and many say the women are winning.
Boy-math scenarios date back to at least mid-August, the meme database KnowYourMeme says. But they didn't become that popular until this week when the trend exploded on X (formerly Twitter). Excited internet users have reshared the best examples on TikTok, and some creators have come up with their own.
Some of the most popular boy-math hypotheticals call out hypocritical things a man might do, such as
"being afraid of gold diggers when you only have 3 pairs of socks to your name," as one X post with over 80,000 likes said.
"Boy math is when YOU cannot cook or clean but it's the women who refuse to do it for you who are 'lazy and dirty,'" another much-hearted post reads.
There are also more meta boy-math posts that mock how the original girl-math trend was met with backlash and hijacked by some men online: "Boy math is claiming women aren't funny or creative but hopping on every f---ing trend we do for ourselves and then whining when you don't get it," one X post said.
While girl math was mostly lighthearted, with women teaching others the nonsense logic of the trend, boy math jokes have, in the last few days, taken on a more pointed tone. Some of the most popular posts reference controversial age gaps in relationships, including an X post with 40,000 likes that said, "Boy math is waiting until her 18th birthday, and thinking that doesn't make you a pedophile."
"Boy math is being 6 times more likely to abandon their wives with terminal or chronic illness and then crying about male loneliness," another X post sais.
The trend has gone so viral that at least one politician has entered the fray. "Boy math is needing 15 attempts to count the votes correctly to become Speaker and then shutting down the government 9 months later," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an X post, referencing the imminent government shutdown if representatives can't agree on a funding deal before Sunday.
Some internet users who have been observing the boy-math trend are happy to report that the women are making funnier roasts. "The men on Twitter are literally getting cooked right now and I'm living for it," one TikToker said. "Ladies, keep fighting the good fight."
https://www.insider.com/boy-math-explained-2023-9
Oct. 7, 2023 My opinion: I don't find the jokes in this article funny. I find them mean and offensive.
Dateline: To Catch a Predator: This reminds me of when I used to copy and paste these mean, offensive, and funny comments where they criticize the predators from YouTube. There were a lot of comments like this:
"At first he says he's 24 like being 24 is more of an appropriate age to date a 12 yr old than 35 lol"
This is from my Mar. 2011 blog post:
Dateline/ Post Secret/ Polaris Project
Scream 4/ Southgate Construction scam
grey issues (Part 1)/ Justin Berry/ intervention/ abortions
Justin Berry: I was telling Adam about him.
Tracy: Justin gets a webcam to meet new people and make new friends, specifically girls.
Adam snorts.
Tracy: Why are you laughing?
Adam: Well he's a 13 yr old boy, so of course.
Tracy: Later a guy says he will pay him $50 if he takes his shirt off on webcam for a few min. So he does.
Adam: That's a bad decision.
Tracy: What? Why did you say that? When that happened, Berry was all like: "Yeah, I take my shirt off at the pool, so what's the big deal if I take my shirt off on webcam?" I thought the same thing.
Adam: Yeah, but when you take your shirt off at the pool, it's because you're at the pool. If you take your shirt off on webcam, then it's on webcam. What you do on the internet, stays on the internet.
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/02/grey.html
Here are the other 2 blog posts of the week:
"Hollywood strikes bring uncertainty to local businesses as Toronto film festival nears"/ "Canadian cinemas brace for film release slowdown as Hollywood strikes continue"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/10/hollywood-strikes-bring-uncertainty-to.html
"Hollywood strikes aren’t putting a damper on fall film festivals"/ "Local businesses preparing for 'more mellow' TIFF as Hollywood strikes continue"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/10/hollywood-strikes-arent-putting-damper.html
Fri. Oct. 13, 2023 "Best Buy to stop selling DVDs and Blu-Rays as of next year": Today I found this on CBC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/best-buy-dvd-blu-ray-1.6995380
Wed. Oct. 18, 2023 "Taller box, less cereal? Calls for more transparency when companies shrink your groceries": Today I found this article by Sophia Harris on CBC. I read an article about this before on CBC. Mainly be careful and look closely at the mg and mL of the food and how much they cost. This is shrinkflation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/shrinkflation-government-1.6996673
Thurs. Oct. 19, 2023 "Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president": Today I found this article on BNN Bloomberg.
This reminds me of how a few weeks ago I wrote about some Target stores closed down in the US because of this. I did say: "This happens in the US. It could happen in Canada:
Sun. Oct. 15, 2023 Jumbo Dim Sum: We went there to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. We also invited my dad's friend M and his wife.
We liked the seafood fried rice that had shrimp and imitation crab. There was Peking duck, sweet and sour pork, and beef reebs with onions.
Mon. Oct. 16, 2023 Resumes: I went to the Stanley A. Milner library to update my resumes on Microsoft Word. My dad bought 2 used computers and they don't have MS Word.
Do you know where I can get Microsoft Word installed on my computer for free?
That would be really helpful.
Wed. Oct. 18, 2023 Shoppers Drug Mart: I went to the one in Capilano and there weren't any sales. They mostly have sales on the weekends.
Wal- Mart: I walked to here that's on the same block. I bought 3 bags of Lays Chips for $10 and 3 boxes of Whippet chocolate covered marshmallow cookies for $8.
I found a Wal- Mart gift card in my home. The cashier and customer service said they don't take these cards in Canada. They can only be used in the US.
Weather: It was warm today. I wanted to buy my snacks before it gets cold outside.
New back door: My back door has been broken for months. Today we finally got the new door placed in.
No comments:
Post a Comment