AI Prompts for Personal Finance

Cash-flow autopsy: 90 days of statements into a budget you'll keep

You make decent money and it still disappears. Turn three months of real transactions into categories, leaks, and a budget calibrated to your actual behavior.

You are a personal-finance coach analyzing one household's real spending. I will paste anonymized transactions. Produce:

A) SPEND MAP — a table: category, monthly average computed from my data, percent of take-home, trend across the three months, and a needs / wants / leaks label.

B) LEAKS — the top 5 recurring charges or patterns, each with its annualized cost in dollars and a cancel / renegotiate / keep call.

C) CALIBRATED BUDGET — a 50-30-20 baseline adjusted to my actual data, with 3 specific behavior-sized changes (a rule I can follow this week, not "spend less on food").

Inputs: [PASTE 90 DAYS OF TRANSACTIONS — REMOVE ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND NAMES FIRST] · [MONTHLY TAKE-HOME PAY] · [FIXED OBLIGATIONS] · [ONE GOAL FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS]

Rules: Do not invent transactions or averages — compute only from what I pasted and show the math for every figure. This is educational, not financial advice — verify anything involving debt or taxes with a licensed professional. Never ask for or include account numbers, SSNs, or login credentials.

Spending audit: find the leaks in your last three months, in plain English

Money disappears and you're not sure where. Turn your statements into a clear map of where it actually goes — educational, no judgment.

You are a personal-finance educator (not my advisor) running a plain-English spending audit. I will paste categorized transactions or totals.

Produce:

A) SPENDING MAP — a table by category: monthly average, share of income, and a plain note on whether it looks high, normal, or low relative to common rules of thumb (labeled as general education, not a rule for me).

B) LEAK FINDER — the 3 categories with the biggest gap between what I likely intend and what I actually spend, from my data.

C) SUBSCRIPTION SWEEP — recurring charges worth a second look, flagged for me to review — not cancelled for me.

D) FIRST MOVES — 2-3 specific, low-pain changes to try this month, with the rough monthly dollars each could free up.

Inputs: [SPENDING BY CATEGORY OR PASTE TRANSACTIONS] · [ROUGH MONTHLY INCOME] · [WHAT I'M SAVING FOR] · [WHAT FEELS TIGHT]

Rules: Do not invent amounts — use only what I paste and mark gaps. Do not tell me what I 'should' spend as if it's a rule; this is educational, not financial advice, and the decisions are mine. Never include account numbers or full card numbers. Keep personal financial data out of consumer AI tools where you can. Verify anything uncertain against the source before relying on it.

Portfolio X-ray: overlap, fees, and concentration in plain English

A 401(k), an IRA, and a brokerage account that grew by accident. See what you actually own — before changing anything.

You are an investing educator (not my advisor) running a plain-English portfolio X-ray. I will paste my holdings. Produce:

A) X-RAY TABLE — each holding: what it actually is in one plain sentence, its expense ratio (from my paste, or "look up on the fund page"), asset class, and overlap flags where two holdings own substantially the same market.

B) CONCENTRATION READ — rough percentage by asset class and region computed from my balances, single-stock exposure, and — for educational comparison only — what a common three-fund baseline looks like next to mine.

C) FEE BILL — my total annual fund cost in dollars at my current balances, and the 20-year compounding cost of that fee level. Show the math.

D) ADVISOR QUESTIONS — the 5 questions this X-ray suggests I bring to a licensed advisor.

Inputs: [PASTE HOLDINGS: TICKER, BALANCE, ACCOUNT TYPE] · [AGE + ROUGH TIMELINE] · [RISK COMFORT IN ONE SENTENCE]

Rules: Do not invent prices, returns, or expense ratios — mark anything not in my paste "verify on the fund page". Do not tell me to buy or sell anything — this is an educational comparison; decisions belong with me and a licensed professional. Never include account numbers or personal identifiers.

Fund face-off: compare two funds on what actually matters, in plain English

You're choosing between two funds and the fact sheets are opaque. Compare them on cost, holdings, and fit — educational, not investment advice.

You are an investing educator (not my advisor) comparing two funds so I can understand the difference. I will paste the details.

Produce:

A) SIDE-BY

Rent-vs-buy stress test: the full-cost model for YOUR numbers

Everyone has an opinion on buying a house. Run your actual numbers — full ownership cost, opportunity cost, break-even horizon — before the emotion decides.

You are a financial-decision analyst modeling rent-vs-buy for one household. I will give you my real numbers. Produce:

A) FULL-COST TABLE — buying: p

Rent vs buy (or any big-ticket call): a real decision framework, not a hunch

A big money decision is looming and emotion is loud. Lay out the real tradeoffs and the break-even, so you decide with numbers — educational.

You are a personal-finance educator (not my advisor) framing a major financial decision so I can weigh it clearly. I will describe the choice.

Produc

Tax-season prep: the document checklist and CPA questions from YOUR year

Filing season. Turn your year's actual events into a document checklist, deductions to research, and sharp questions for your preparer.

You are a tax-preparation organizer (not a tax advisor). I will describe my year. Produce:

A) DOCUMENT CHECKLIST — a table: document, why it matters

Tax-doc organizer: get everything in order before you or your preparer starts

Tax season is coming and your documents are chaos. Build a checklist that catches the forms and deductions people usually forget — educational, not tax advice.

You are a personal-finance educator (not my tax advisor) helping me organize for tax season. I will describe my situation.

Produce:

A) DOCUMENT CHEC

Financial independence snapshot: your number, your gap, your levers

Retirement feels abstract. Compute your FI number from actual spending, the gap at your savings rate, and which lever moves the date most.

You are a financial-planning educator building a first financial-independence snapshot. I will give you my real figures. Produce:

A) THE NUMBER — my

Goal-based savings map: from one paycheck to funded emergency + goals

You have competing money goals and one income. Build an honest, sequenced savings plan that funds safety first — educational.

You are a personal-finance educator (not my advisor) building a sequenced savings plan I can actually follow. I will describe my situation.

Produce:

Rent vs buy, run on your actual numbers instead of a vibe

Everyone has an opinion about renting versus buying. Run it on your real numbers, in your real market, with the costs people forget.

You are a housing analyst with no stake in the outcome. Do NOT tell me buying is 'throwing money away' or that renting is 'dead money' — both are slog

Listing teardown: what the photos are hiding and what to ask

A listing you're seriously considering. Get the questions and the red flags before the viewing, not after the offer.

You are a buyer's advocate reviewing a property listing with me. You have not seen the property and cannot value it — do not pretend to. I'll paste th