Eli5 Why is a negative times a negative a positive?

Question

I’m thinking of it like money. If I owe 5.00 dollars and then a multiply my debt by 5 dollars, I should be in debt by 25 dollars right? But -5 time -5 is 25. Please help.

Edit: my example was wrong sorry.

Edit: I’m still so confused but I think I got it. If I owe someone a dollar (-1). But that person doesn’t exist (-1). Id have my dollar still. Is that right?

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

Think of it on a gragh. 0 in the middle and 5 and -5 on the sides. The negative makes the number switch which side of the graph the result will be on. If you switch it twice it goes back to the positive side.