AI Revolutionizes Personal Finance Management: From Budgeting to Bill Negotiations

I used AI to slash my monthly expenses -- without giving up the things I love

With high prices and summer expenses creeping in, I knew I had to get serious about my budget. So, naturally I turned to the one assistant I knew wouldn't judge me: AI. Over the course of a month, I used ChatGPT and Gemini to track down hidden spending, negotiate lower bills and rethink the way I plan meals. I wasn't expecting much -- just a few dollars shaved here and there. But by the end of the month, I had saved a significant amount. Here's exactly how I did it (without sharing any personal or credit card information). First up: subscription creep. My credit card shows "upcoming" subscriptions, which I copied and pasted into the prompt area. If your credit card doesn't offer this, you can upload a monthly statement and the AI can pick out the subscriptions that way. Once I did that, I used this prompt: "Analyze this list of monthly subscriptions and suggest which ones I can cancel, pause or downgrade based on usage." Within seconds, ChatGPT flagged several that I hadn't used in months and didn't even realize I was still paying for, including a fitness app I forgot about, a duplicate cloud storage plan, and an audiobook subscription I was no longer using. It also suggested checking for bundled services (I was paying separately for Hulu and Disney+, despite having access to the bundle). Next, I asked ChatGPT to help me lower my phone bill because for some reason it increased by $20 since the month before. What was that about? I used the prompt: "Help me write a script to ask my internet provider for a discount or promotion." It gave me a short, polite message that mentioned my long-time customer status and asked about current promotions. I called using that exact script, and after a brief hold, I got a $40/month credit applied for the next 12 months. By doing that, I also got internet with the phone provider and was able to cancel my neighborhood provider; this was something I hadn't thought of. AI also helped me draft cancellation emails for a gym membership with an "absolutely no refunds" policy (and I got a refund!). Feeding a family of five can add up fast, especially when you don't plan ahead. I asked Gemini to help: "Create a meal plan for a week of dinners under $100." My grocery bill is usually about $250. I gave the chatbot a short list of pantry and freezer items, and it filled in the gaps with a budget-friendly grocery list. It suggested sheet pan chicken, chili, tacos and one night of leftovers. The meal plan helped me stick to a grocery budget and eliminated our usual midweek pizza night. When my kids complained about no more takeout pizza, I set up a ChatGPT Task to search the best pizza deals in the area every Friday night. Weekend activities can quietly wreck your budget, especially with kids. Instead of defaulting to movie tickets or amusement parks, I asked ChatGPT: "Find 5 free or low-cost activities for families this weekend near [my town]." It found a free library event, a nature center with no admission fee and a local museum offering half-price Saturday admission. I also used it to generate indoor activities for a rainy day at home (pillow fort challenge, movie marathon and kitchen bingo). While I would never let AI become my financial planner, or recommend anyone else do that, I will admit, AI is a good assistant when it comes to uncovering extra purchases that I really don't need. Neither chatbot linked directly to my accounts or tracked real-time spending. You should never give confidential or sensitive personal information to a chatbot. But what it can do is give you a clear-eyed look at your habits, surface savings you might miss and help you act on them with confidence.

5 ways to let AI do your financial heavy lifting

Sick of carrying your financial burdens alone? Sifting through bank statements, navigating investment decisions and tackling your budget every month can be a pain. But in the age of robotic dogs and self-driving vehicles, artificial intelligence can help you cut through the slog and manage your finances easier than ever-and have fun doing it, Finder.com reports. Use budgeting and expense tracker apps The pen-and-paper method of tracking your money really is tried and true. Millions of people have tried it, and it's truly easy to make mistakes. As personal and unique as the handwritten word is, the complexity of modern personal finances makes it essential to use budgeting tools that aggregate payment details from many sources, autocalculate figures and generate big-picture reports. That's where AI comes in. Budgeting and expense tracker apps typically use AI to scan your banking activity and identify your income and expenses to show you where your money is going. Usually, all you have to do is create an account and follow the app's prompts to connect to your bank accounts. After that, AI takes over and crawls your data, creating easy-to-read visuals that break down your spending categories. It's a great way to clearly see if you're on track to meet your goals and where your money habits need a little work. Popular finance apps Cleo and YNAB (You Need A Budget) collectively have millions of downloads. Take a glance at Reddit to see what people are saying about budgeting apps, and you'll see how many people have gotten hooked on the freedom and protection that comes with having their finances scrutinized by a pair of artificially intelligent eyes. Of course, you'll find complaints too. Not all apps are equal, but it doesn't hurt to dive in and give one a try. Set and forget your investments with a robo-advisor If the thought of having Alexa listen in on your home conversations is a little disconcerting, take comfort in knowing that managing your money with AI doesn't require surrendering your humanity to the dystopian control of a bot army. In fact, much of the AI tech available today operates in the background with little or no interruption to your everyday life. That's certainly the case with robo-advisor investment services. While a "robo-advisor" might sound like C-3PO in a business suit, it's actually just technology that selects and adjusts investments for you based on your goals, risk tolerance and preferences. SoFi, Acorns and Justwealth are a few examples. One of the great benefits of using a robo-advisor is the low cost involved. You're not paying for a professionally trained human financial advisor, although some robo-advisors come with professional human advice if you need it. Robo-advisory fees often run under 0.5% of your total assets under management, while professional financial advisors may cost between 1% and 2%. To give you an idea of the savings, a 0.38% robo-advisory fee for a $100,000 portfolio runs around $380, while a 1.5% professional management fee would cost you $1,500-or $1,120 more down the drain. This example may not reflect all the fees and costs you might pay, but it shows how much you could save by cutting back your asset management costs. Monitor and improve your credit score AI may be touted as a magic wand of sorts, but it can't fix a bad credit score. It can, however, help you understand your score and find ways to improve it. Giving consumers a peek at the breakdown of their credit scores is a natural evolution for an industry that has already been using AI for years to evaluate credit applicants' risk levels and process approvals. In fact, machine learning has been used by financial institutions since the 1980s, with the FICO Score rating system officially launching in 1989. Companies like Credit Karma and TransUnion provide credit monitoring services that use AI to scan individuals' credit histories, spot weaknesses, suggest fixes and promote relevant credit products. While no one wants to be inundated with ads tempting them to get into debt, this can be a good way to find out about low APR loans or balance transfer promotional offers that can help you consolidate debt, save on interest fees and maybe even get rewarded for everyday spending. Many financial companies, including American Express and Capital One, offer free credit monitoring and personalized insights when you become a customer. Before signing up for a paid service, find out if your bank or credit card issuer already offers credit monitoring. Get personalized advice from an AI financial coach Paying your bills and setting aside money for a rainy day might sound straightforward until you actually sit down and do it. Ticking off all the right financial boxes for yesterday, today and tomorrow can be complicated when you factor in debt repayment, emergency savings, investing, monthly expenses and everything else on your platter. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a knowledgeable coach available on demand to help you create a plan and stick to your goals? An AI financial coach can help. Human financial coaches are a solid option, too, but AI coaching may be more affordable in some cases and can be used just about anytime, anywhere, provided you have access to the app. AI has been serving the financial services industry for decades, but direct-to-consumer AI financial coaching is still relatively new. Personal finance app Origin launched an AI-powered financial assistant that, among other things, offers a retirement readiness assessment and analyzes users' spending patterns to make recommendations for cutting back expenses and bumping up their savings. Negotiate lower bill payments When you get into a rhythm of paying bills, your expenses can feel set in stone. But did you know that you may be able to ask for lower rates or fees for some types of expenses? Credit card interest rates and phone and internet costs may not be as fixed as you think. If gearing up to haggle with a big company over prices sounds out of your league, let AI help. Free chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini can draft messages to your service provider requesting lower rates or fees. You should never give a chatbot sensitive personal or financial information like your bank account number or credit card number. But you can use AI to draft a template for the type of message you want to send and then copy it into your own document to complete with the details. If you're willing to shell out a little money to save more in the long run, you can even sign up for an app that uses AI to negotiate expenses or debt repayments on your behalf. For instance, Kikoff AI Debt Negotiation will, with your permission, request money-saving offers from your debtors. You'll have the opportunity to review and accept any available offers within a limited time frame. We aren't yet living in a world where every household wakes up to a robot serving freshly made breakfast, but we do have a growing range of AI tools at our fingertips to save smarter, spend more wisely, make money and financially prepare for the future.