(CNN) — The problem with social media in-jokes is they don’t stay funny for long. Someone takes them too seriously, then they become overblown commentaries on society as a whole, and then a media ...

From the TikTok feeds that brought you girl dinner comes girl math: a strategy for justifying large or unnecessary purchases. The calculations behind girl math aren't new, but the way we talk about ...

Money is weird, but girl math is magic. Somehow, buying a $70 triple-A game or a $5 indie gem doesn’t count as spending if you squint and do some mental gymnastics. I’m not talking boring budgeting ...

The Instagram algorithm recently brought me a new form of content: “Girl Math” videos. The trend is lighthearted, with women listing off all the ways that money doesn’t “count” in certain contexts. A ...

You pay for a latte with money from your Starbucks app, so your bank account balance doesn’t change. That means the coffee was basically free, right? This is just one example of “girl math,” a trend ...

A video of a teenage girl attempting to explain the concept of “girl math” to her father has gone viral. “If I buy concert tickets for two people, and those people pay me back, the money they pay me ...

You may not recognize the name Danica McKellar, but chances are you know Winnie Cooper, the character she played on The Wonder Years, beloved by Kevin Arnold and young, male TV viewers alike. These ...

Ever paid for a ridiculously expensive drink in cash, hence it was “free”? Or spent an extra 30 bucks just to get “free” shipping? Or avoided looking at your credit card statement, because if you ...

While I am financially savvy, I’m also into some lighthearted spending logic. And if your math brain works anything like mine, we might agree on some things: anything less than $5 is free; it’s smart ...

Tracy Weyand liked math as a kid. She was good at it. But there weren’t many outlets or activities for that interest outside the classroom. Students who like words can work at the school newspaper.