How often do you think about money? Are you someone who buys whatever you want without much thought or someone who carefully considers each dollar that leaves your bank account?
No matter which category you fall into, you probably work within a budget of some kind. That makes you a math person.
Of course, it’s no surprise there’s math involved when we are talking about money. Some of it is obvious. We add our income to our current bank balance and we subtract from that balance every time we buy something.
There’s quite a bit more to maintaining a budget than simple addition and subtraction, though. Money is a resource. When you have a fixed amount of any resource, you have to make decisions about how much to use. Making these kinds of decisions requires a big chunk of your mathematical brain.
When you create a budget, you are usually working within a timeline, let’s say each month, so you need a plan that allows your money to last that long. This involves estimating how much you will bring in. If you have a job that pays a salary, this is usually easy since you get paid the same amount each month. For those who get paid hourly, estimating income can get a little complicated. Especially when there are holidays on the calendar or if your work schedule varies from week to week.
Managing a budget also requires you to estimate expenses. Some expenses, like rent and car payments are fixed, and others like groceries and gas, tend to vary quite a bit. Estimation is one of the math skills you use on a regular basis. You estimate all sorts of things every day and when you use estimation when creating and managing your budget, you are absolutely using your math brain. That makes you a math person.
{If you are curious about some of the ways you use estimation on a daily basis, check out Math is Close Enough or Episode 3 of the podcast.}
What other math skills are involved in managing a budget? I’m so glad you asked! Once you have an idea of how much you have for a certain category, like groceries, you have to make decisions throughout the month about what you will buy so that you stay within that budget. This involves prioritizing and evaluating your needs and options before you put anything into your cart. If we stick with the groceries example, we have to think not only about price, but also if the people in your household like it and will eat it and how long it will last. This thought process of evaluating and prioritizing what you buy is definitely mathematical in nature. The thing is, we evaluate and prioritize so many things on a daily basis…not just when spending money…that it’s probably second nature to you and you don’t even realize you are doing it.
The way I see it, that makes you a math person.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, there’s even more math involved in budgeting. Problem solving is a big one that comes to mind. Maybe an extra expense pops up out of nowhere and you have to either adjust your budget or find another way to pay for it. Or when there’s something you really want that doesn’t exactly fit in your current budget, so you figure out how to save for it or move some things around to create space.
Then, there’s patterns, of course. You know it always comes back to patterns. Patterns of spending, patterns of expenses, patterns of being over or under budget, either overall or in certain categories.
And if you are someone who loves a good graph or spreadsheet, you cannot even think about saying you are not a math person. Charts and graphs require organization, evaluation, and calculations. Depending on the kind of graph, you might be using percentages, too. If you are using a spreadsheet, I bet you are entering formulas so you don’t have to calculate manually.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, here. The bottom line is it doesn’t matter how you are keeping track of your finances. Checking your balance on an app, entering deposits and withdrawals in a bank book, tracking on a spreadsheet, using a system of cash in envelopes…all of them require comparing, estimating, planning, organization, tracking, pattern recognition, problem solving, and calculating.
Meaning, if you are thinking about your money at all, in any way, you are most definitely a math person.
So, the next time you catch yourself comparing prices, checking to see if you have enough in the bank for groceries, or figuring out how to pay for new shoes or a new car, I invite you to pause for just a tiny moment to recognize the mathematical thinking you are using and to remind yourself you are a math person.
Thank you so much for reading today! I’m on a mission to change the way the world sees math and I can’t do it alone. So, if you enjoyed this post, please share the podcast with others who can benefit from the message. There’s also a I See Math People podcast episode to match. It’s number 22 if you’d like to take a listen. The more people who get the message, the more mindsets begin to shift and that, my friend, is how movements gain momentum.
In case you didn’t hear, I wrote a book and released it into the world last week! It explains a couple of basic algebraic ideas and reveals a few ways you think algebraically as you go about your day. If you are someone who thought math was fine until the letters began showing up, Algebra is Not the Enemy is the book for you. Want to know how to get it? Head on over to onamission.bio/jennifermasonhardin and choose “I wrote a book.” It will take less than 30 seconds to fill out the form and receive all the details right to your inbox.
Repetition is how we learn, so before I sign off here’s what I want you to take away:
- Creating and managing a budget, whether you do it in a formal way by allocating certain amounts to categories or informally by checking your bank balance before taking your cart through the checkout requires all sorts of mathematical thinking.
- When you manage your personal finances, you are calculating, estimating, comparing, prioritizing, problem solving, and spotting patterns.
- All of these are mathematical ideas you probably do without even thinking about it. That makes you a math person.
If this brings up thoughts and questions for you, I would love to hear them! Comment below, or if you prefer a more private setting, message me on Instagram or send an email. I’d love nothing more than to continue this conversation.
I’d love to know, what’s you favorite way to manage your money?
