When the “girl math” trend blew up on TikTok, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Yes, sometimes returning clothes feels like you’ve made money, even when you haven’t. But the large majority of women I know aren’t fooling themselves about their finances. Instead, they’re counting every penny to make ends meet during a cost of living crisis that has hit women the hardest and caused the gender financial wellbeing gap in Britain to widen even further, with women more likely to have lower wages and childcare responsibilities, and less likely to have savings or money for fun than men.
On top of this, we’re also contending with the Pink Tax: when products and services marketed towards women cost more than men’s comparable products, despite serving the same purpose with the same quality, if not better. For example, browsing for black Calvin Klein thongs on Amazon, I came across a three-pack for £36. Meanwhile, men’s boxers, which use far more material and contain 5 per cent more cotton, cost just £25.97.
Often,
