Highlights:
- How one woman is making smarter money decisions by using ChatGPT
- The step-by-step guide to creating your own AI money coach
- Better than budgeting: get personalized feedback on your spending and finances
If you want to be better with money, ChatGPT might help.
In this YouTube video, Elle shares how she uses AI to help her manage spending, pay down debt, and invest.
This guide breaks down the process further so you can make your own “AI money coach”.
This tool can help avoid impulse buys, rethink big purchases, and stick to financial goals with real-time support. Think of it as a free accountability partner in your pocket.
However, it’s not a replacement for professional help. A fee-only advisor or certified financial planner is the best way to get expert guidance, and can help you with things far beyond AI’s capabilities.
This “AI money coach” helps you make smarter day-to-day decisions to stay on track with your goals.
Create your AI Money Coach
In order to do this, you’ll need a paid account (and use GPT-4) to access Projects and custom instructions.
1: Set up a Project
Log into ChatGPT and on the left-hand sidebar, click “New project” and name it something like “Money Coach”.
This project will save all your information so ChatGPT can remember your financial goals, track your spending, and offer advice when you check in.
This way, you’ll get helpful and personalized guidance without starting from scratch each time.
2: Create your coach
Once your Project is created, copy and paste a prompt into the custom instructions or into your first message in the chat.
Get the exact in-depth prompt and instructions that Elle uses by clicking here to get her free guide.
Or use this simplified version:
You are my personal AI financial coach. Your role is to help me make better spending decisions, hold me accountable to my goals, and help me avoid unnecessary purchases. Be honest, supportive, and strategic - like a financially savvy mentor. Use plain language. Don’t sugar-coat things.
3: Add your financial details
If you already use a budgeting tool (like YNAB or a spreadsheet), you can export your income and monthly spending plan from there. You could even upload a screenshot of your dashboard.
Or, copy and paste the outline below into ChatGPT and fill in the blanks.
One thing you shouldn’t include is how much you have in savings and investments. This won’t give you more helpful guidance, and it’s better to keep that information private.
My Monthly Take-Home Pay:
$
My Monthly Budget:
Rent/mortgage: $
Utilities: $
Transportation: $
Debt payments: $
Insurance: $
Groceries: $
Restaurants and takeout: $
Coffee: $
Entertainment: $
Personal care: $
Clothing: $
Pets: $
Miscellaneous: $
Savings Goals:
Emergency fund contribution: $
Investment contributions: $
Debt payments: $
Other savings: $
Top 3 Financial Goals:
1.
2.
3.
How to use your AI Money Coach
Now that it’s set up, here are ways you can use it!
Track your spending
Whenever you spend money, log it by speaking it into the app or typing a quick voice note.
You might say:
“I just spent $28.70 at Target on pet supplies”
“I bought jeans for $120”
Your money coach will respond with personalized insights like where you stand in your budget and how the purchase affects your goals.
Get feedback on your spending
Even small purchases like daily coffee runs add up. Logging them gives your coach a chance to reflect on those purchases and potential tradeoffs:
“You’ve spent $72 on coffee so far this month - that’s money that could’ve gone to your investments or vacation fund.”
This kind of real-time feedback helps you replace impulse spending with intentional choices, without needing to rely on willpower alone.
Make better buying decisions
Use your money coach to think through purchases.
If you’re considering buying something, run it past your coach first, like:
“I’m thinking about buying a jacket for $150”
Your coach will help you weigh the decision based on your current budget and long-term goals. It might ask:
• Does this align with your financial priorities?
• Is there room for it in your budget this month?
• Will it delay progress toward your emergency fund, debt payoff, or retirement savings?
• Is it something you need now, or something you can wait and plan for?
See an example
Click here to see how Elle used ChatGPT to avoid a pricey purchase and find a good alternative:
Decide what to do with leftover money
If you come in under budget for the month, ChatGPT can help you decide what to do with that money based on your current goals.
This way you can be intentional and use it towards your biggest priorities, instead of letting it sit there unused or disappear from random spending.
Now automate your investing
Your AI money coach is a simple way to stay on track with your money goals.
You can take it a step further by putting your investments on autopilot.
People who automate their investments tend to build wealth faster because they stay consistent - and that’s why Passiv is so powerful.
It automates the work of managing your investment portfolio by connecting to your brokerage and suggesting trades based on your portfolio to keep you on track.
See how your investments are performing at a glance, track your contributions, and even rebalance with a click.
