How To Actually Save Money in the Age of Pink Taxes and Girl Math 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska / Pexels

In a time where saving money feels next to impossible with the rising costs of absolutely everything, we know how hard it is to budget.

If you’re anything like us, one scroll on Instagram will have you wanting to go out for dinner, buy a new pair of shoes, or purchase some new gadget you don’t need. Two clicks later it’s in your basket and you’re frantically putting in your credit card details. Sound familiar?  

With “girl math” taking over our social media feeds, it is important for young women to realise that being smart with money is not just for men. Although many women participating in this trend argue that it can even be harmful as it reinforces the narrative that women are bad with money. 

While I am guilty of saying to myself “girl math” when I pay for something in cash, or spending more money to get that free shipping, recently I have been looking at my spending habits and realising that I can’t girl math myself into saving for a house one day. 

Women already have extra expenses to contend with, not to mention the pink tax. This refers to the phenomenon where products marketed towards women are priced higher than similar products marketed towards men… and it’s more than just increasing the price of everyday products if they are pink.

It is a system that keeps people thinking that women are not financially conscious, and more concerningly, to keep women from having as much money as men. In her book The Pink Tax: Dismantling a Financial System Designed to Keep Women Broke, Janine Rogan gives examples in her local supermarket: “Gillet razor (top of the line) – women’s $21.99; men’s $15.99.”  

While some of the examples may only seem like a couple of dollars or cents, she gives us the figure of just how much this adds up to by the age of 60: $82,000… Great.

But this goes further than just pink products or toiletries. A study carried out in 1995 saw that women in car dealerships were shockingly quoted $200 more than their male counterparts, and Black women were quoted $400 more.

Rogan explains how the financial system is often set up to make women feel financially unstable and to benefit men. Money is politics and until men stop making laws around women’s autonomy rights, money will continue to be used to suppress women, she says. 

So, how do we begin to start saving when it seems the odds are already stacked against us?

According to neobank bunq, almost 60% of people in Ireland are saving money consistently and nearly 70% are maintaining a spending budget. So just how are they doing it?

Whether it’s for travel, a house deposit, or a new handbag (we don’t judge) we’ve found some of the best tips to help you save and get the most out of your paycheck. 

Download Budgeting Apps 

Budgeting apps are the best way to see where you’re spending your money. Apps such as Spending Tracker – Budget, allow you to monitor exactly where your money is going. Every time you spend money, or you get paid, you are asked to put this amount of money in a category such as food, clothes, entertainment, fuel etc, or one you have created yourself.  

More often than not, it’s the sweet treat you buy yourself every day adding up and eating into your paycheck rather than the odd materialistic purchase.  

Revolut vaults are also a great way to save money. When you put money into a savings vault, it is deducted from your normal Revolut account and put into a separate section of the Revolut app where you can set multiple vaults up to save for specific things.

They also have the spare change feature where you can automatically save a little each time you spend. Each transaction is rounded up to the nearest whole number and the difference is put into your spare change vault. 

Follow Saving Accounts on TikTok and Instagram 

TikTok and Instagram are where many of us are influenced to purchase, but instead of deleting these apps, following saving accounts can be helpful when scrolling to bring you back to reality.  

If you do see something during your daily scroll that you feel like you must have, use the two-week rule. Instead of buying on a whim, wait two weeks to decide if it’s truly what you want or need. By giving yourself that pause, you have a better chance of avoiding impulsive purchases. 

Here are some of our favourite saving accounts on Instagram and TikTok: 

Instagram: 

• @myfrugalyear 
• @cheryl.louise_ 
• @irishbudgeting 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cheryl Louise (@cheryl.louise_)

TikTok: 

• @young.irish.budgeter
• @askpaul 
• @hermoneymastery 

@hermoneymastery 4 steps to being less broke next month: -set a planning meeting with yourself -plan your goals -set up your monthly overview -set up your planning calendar Then throughout the month, you can easily and QUICKLY create your paycheck budgets. Youre way more likely to be successful doing this! If you learn how to budget in a way you can actually stick to, youre gonna see way more progress. You got this 🤍 #budgetingtiktok #budgeting #budgetingforbeginners #budgetingtips ♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim

Set Yourself a Goal

Without anything to save for, it can be difficult to stick to a budget. Set yourself a clear goal with a certain amount and a deadline. This will allow you to work towards something and help curb those impulsive spending habits.  

Goals provide a way to measure your progress. By setting specific targets, such as saving a certain amount of money by a particular date, you can track your progress over time and make adjustments as needed. 

Setting goals encourages long-term thinking and planning. Whether your goals are short-term (such as saving for a holiday) or long-term (such as saving for a house), having a plan in place allows you to make strategic decisions about how to manage your finances over time. 

Words by Abby Sammon 

• money
• Savings