'Girl Math' Resurfaces As Shoppers Navigate Holiday Spending Amid High Inflation

In the face of persistently high prices this holiday season, consumers are resorting to a popular TikTok personal finance trend, ‘girl math,’ to rationalize increased spending.

What Happened: ‘Girl math,’ a term coined on TikTok for the mental gymnastics consumers engage in to justify their purchases, has returned this holiday season, signaling the financial stress consumers are experiencing. A Tuesday report from CNBC highlighted this phenomenon.

Despite plateauing inflation, prices remain high, causing more than half of holiday shoppers to feel financially strained this season, according to a Bankrate study.

The trend of ‘girl math’ first gained popularity as a humorous way for women to justify purchases by using quirky fractions or demonstrating the versatility of outfits.

Bryan Gildenberg, managing director at Retail Cities, noted that “shoppers do feel like they want to celebrate the holiday season right,” suggesting that ‘girl math’ serves as a coping mechanism for consumers amidst escalating costs.

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Melissa Lee, a financial consultant from Great Eastern, highlighted that ‘girl math’ provides a “mental label for their money,” helping shoppers justify their spending habits. This trend has been observed as holiday shopping started earlier this year and is predicted to end later, as reported by McKinsey & Company.

Why It Matters: The reemergence of the ‘girl math’ trend indicates an attempt by consumers to navigate the financially challenging holiday season. The girl math trend initially gained traction as a lighthearted way to justify purchases Its return underscores the financial stress consumers are experiencing due to high prices

The trend has been observed as pre-holiday online spending touched a record $76.8 billion in October, $4.3 billion more than the previous year, according to Adobe Analytics. Additionally, a Morgan Stanley survey revealed that 61% of consumers plan to continue shopping from Dec. 1 through Christmas, expecting better deals than Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Moreover, a Forbes Advisor survey showed that credit cards remain the preferred financing method this season, with 52.3% of Americans planning to borrow to pay for gift purchases, further highlighting the financial burden consumers are facing this holiday season.

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