Did You Hate Math Class? Three Surprisingly Useful Life Hacks You Probably Learned (And Forgot) In School

Whether you're still in school or graduated years ago, there are some classes that you probably loved - and some that you hated. And for many of us, the most hated classes were definitely math-related.

One Way To Do Percentages (useful when hitting up a sale!)

If you've ever tried to do some quick sale shopping math in your head, you can use this tip.

Say you want to figure out 35% of $200. Drop the 1 digit of the percentage figure and multiply it by the 10 digit of the number you want to get a perfectage of. So that would be 2 x 35 = 70, or 35% off $200 would be 200-70 = 130, or $130.

Another Percentage Method

Another way to figure out more complicated percentages is to use this two step method. We'll use the example of figuring out what 5% of 235 is to show you what to do.

Step 1: Move the decimal point over by one spot, so 235 becomes 23.5.

Step 2: Divide 23.5 by by half, making it 11.75.

And 11.75 is 5% of 235, which is the answer to the original question.

Quick Multiplication

This is pretty helpful if you have to calculate the difference between currencies quickly (e.g. when you're shopping while on vacation). Halve the first number in your equation and double the second three times, and then multiple them.

We'll use 32 x 125 as an example.

Start by halving the first number (32/2 = 16) and doubling the second (125x2 =250)

16 x 250 = ?

Do it again = halve the first number and double the second.

8 x 500 = ?

Do it one more time.

4 x 1000 = 4000

You have your answer! 32x125 = 4000.

What math hacks do you wish you actually learned in school?