#both of which wouldve added like an extra $16 to like $30 extra on my bill at the time of i'd agreed

[iampikachuhearmeroar]

so for the past week, i've been obsessively using an app called IXL (unfortunately, yes, it's pay-walled at $15.95AU a month for one subject), to learn maths from preschool to year 12.

while perusing the different year groups from years 5 to 11, i've realised just how much consumer maths, from budgeting and reading financial statements (year 5, in the "financial literacy" screenshot), up to simple and compounding interest from years 9 to year 11...and the ever important unit pricing in grocery shopping can be covered. or will actually be covered, bc I defs did interest calculations, for example, in year 9 and 10 maths.

obviously, probably not all of the screenshots were fully covered when i was at primary school and early high school in the 2000s, and early 2010s for mid high school.... since i dropped maths on purpose in year 11/2012 lmao. but there's SO MUCH about financial literacy, consumer maths (like "what's the best coupon?" in years 6 to 8) and obviously markups and mark downs etc in high school maths.

like obvs, i was *edgy teen voice* scarred for LIFE doing everything to do with interest calculations, GST calculations and wage calculations from years 8 to 10 and always exclaiming "WHEN will i EVER fucking NEED this?? *to the poor person who had to sit next to or near me* hey, chole/dean/jessa/nick can you guys do all the work so you can pretend to wake me up at the end of the lesson?? and maybe i'll copy some of your answers near the end??? thanks. also feel free to take the textbook home, im never going to do my pointless homework!! lol"

like honey. my sweet summer child. you need it NOW. 14 years in the future. you DID get a car eventually in 2022 (10 years after you finally dropped maths lmao). you're now paying double the interest each month to try and get rid of the car loan ASAP. and paying a small extra bit each fortnight to also get rid of it faster. i know it seems so far and impossible to imagine, at 13 to 16, just how far 29 is away from you.... and whether or not buying a car is ever going to happen.

however, you did have a job that went poorly. but it would've been good to know how much super/retirement money to put away while you were there. the said job is how you got the car in the first place lol. now you're trying to get any fucking job possible. where you WILL get paid double time and a half in a casual/part-time job in retail or hospo on public holidays.... or, well, at least hopefully you'll get paid properly lmao.

but my point is like. financial maths/consumer maths/financial literacy IS taught at school. but yeah. it's lost in between polynomials, factorials, parabolas, parallelograms and trapezoids. evil old mate pythagoras and his dastardly triangular formulas. power rules and cube roots. x×y×b= PEMDAS or BODMAS. sin, cos and tan. you get the picture.

but practical real life maths is IN the curriculum. it doesnt need to be taught in an extra class, like everyone who whinges about "we didnt learn about high-yield compound interest savings accounts in school and how they help you save money and help you invest!" bro!!! you fucking did!!! but you were 15. you were probably more focused on playing M/A/S/H with your bestie with your fave mid 2000s/early 2010s heart-throbs.... to give a flying fuck about compound interest. or bitching about how you lost a battle or something on COD. you LEARNT this shit. although, it would've probs also been covered more thoroughly in commerce in years 9 and 10 electives. and economics/business studies (maybe) if your school ran those subjects in senior years.

but again, a lot it is also overshadowed with the "who REALISTICALLY buys 75 watermelons at $400 for the lot, just like sarah and cole?? what a fucking stupid ass question." quips that all teens utter when they're doing questions about money in maths class. because yes, dgmw. 75 watermelons is a ludicrous amount of watermelons for anyone to buy (unless of course they're a greengrocer). but the point of the question is to calculate the idk 15% markup they've been charged (possibly, i just pulled that number out of my ass) and how much they estimate to make back on selling the watermelons at $7.50 each, say, while they're out of season in winter. that shit is important when thinking about sales.... especially how trash sales like black friday have become now. since multi billion dollar retailers will actually UP the price 10% to 20% (bare minimum) or something for the actual proper sale period... all while having great normal pricing BEFORE the real sale week. so then you only save literally $3 over what used to be a good like $40 or more saving.

like a practical example from my life was when i finally got myself off my dads phone bill in 2022.... so now i finally pay for my own phone. however, i added an extra like $30 to my bill each month, at that time, all bc the sales guy was begging me to "augment your phone with samsung buds and the samsung watch because you're YOUNG!!!" like no thanks, rajesh. my phone bill was LITERALLY only $12 more than MY FUCKING FORTNIGHTLY CAR PAYMENT each month. $127 a month for a phone!!! all bc i added two accessories to my bill. my bill is now $96 (still almost $100). mostly bc telstra (main aussie telco) is a piece of shit and decided to raise prices in late 2024 to add an extra $6 to base phone data plans... very obviously right after i decided to pay out my samsung watch up front bc it was down to $80 left.... at $16.50 a month or something, because it took off $10 from my bill by doing that.

like obvs, schools also do sometimes get professional firms (and sometimes banks with their "kids and saving money" for primary school aged kids and "young savers" for middle and high schoolers) programs to come in to teach kids about saving, how to understand their pay stubs and stuff, maybe get some idea of how superannuation works and other financial literacy stuff outside of maths class. this IS important. every school should have access to these programs. overall, my point is though, that these things ARE and CAN be taught to kids in maths class. but it's very obvs dismissed by the kids, like teen me, who REFUSED to believe she'd EVER need those skills. bc alas, sweet kiddo, it CATCHES up to you right fucking quick. let me tell you. ain't no meme gonna save your ass from not knowing how to read a budget.

and all those mid2000s emo band dudes you thought you'd marry, teen me?? i dont think they'd be too pleased to know that all you wanted to do with their money/them was either siphon their funds bc you thought you'd get away with it. all because of the amount of crime channel docos about embezzlement/fund siphoning/money laundering and/or financial fraud you watched (hint: you wouldn't. bc you're shit at maths on purpose.... bc "im just a girl!!! why the fuck do i even need maths, when i can be a sugar baby instead??? lol not lol). or just bankrupt them for funsies bc you had/have no money sense lmao.

like honey. WHY were you so delulu and disconnected from reality??? lmao???? also, maybe i just had tiktok "im just a girl" meme brainrot a good 15 years before tiktok was even a thing. for shits and giggs. which again. is not/wasn't great.

also there was the belief if I ended up as a famous actress (lmao), I'd never need maths.... so I could just pass off onto someone else instead (ie a financial advisor or bank teller). like. I hate to break it to you, teen me. but unfortunately, even successful drama kids (professional actors) and creatives need maths. because most of your pay from a tv show or movie, for example, goes to your agent and entertainment lawyer, etc, and any other retained team you have before it even reaches YOUR bank account.

so then, how do you live off, idk, the maybe $800 you might finally get from one actually paid acting job??? once everyone else gets a cut from your check??? what about residuals?? are they enough to live off of for a time??? (answer: lol, not today in 2025. when studios always actively try to take them off of everyone in tv show or movie casts). but how do you manage this money??? budgeting and maths.