I've recently come around to its usefulness in an unexpected area: personal finance. Like many of us, this is an area I've struggled with in the past – not helped by a self-perception as a numbers-phobic wordsmith – but, of course, acknowledge is incredibly important, and want to improve my understanding of. Enter: ChatGPT. Having stumbled across a tweet across finance blogger Rachael Camp, who says she is "blown away" by some of ChatGPT's use applications in the area of personal finance,
I first consulted This Girl Talks Money blogger Ellie Austin-Williams, emailing her to see if she endorses the idea of using ChatGPT to help me out in my personal finance efforts. She said, “It can definitely help for those simple money management questions you might have. For lots of people, even thinking about personal finance can bring on a headache so for straight forward questions like how to budget, or understanding what a certain financial term might mean, it can provide a starting point.
It's important to note, though, that it definitely isn't recommended for any personal, specific questions about your individual circumstances, as it can't yet take into account all of the complexities around an individual's unique situation.”
An encouraging response, bearing in mind that warning. In the name of investigative journalism, I spent an afternoon chatting to the ChatGPT bot (let it never be said I don't know how to have fun) to explore a few ways it could be used to improve my financial confidence through improving my understanding and demystifying a few key terms, together with offering some simple budgeting and planning advice.
1. Providing simple guides to ‘get started’
Have a specific financial goal, but don't know where to start? ChatGPT can write you an action list for approaching things like saving for a house, or earning Avios from a credit card, or building a retirement fund. I simply asked ChatGPT, “How do I gain Avios points through a credit card?” and I was presented with a step-by-step list of how to go about it, including comparing and researching different cards, and the application process for the card itself.
2. Learning about financial investment
A hurdle many people (myself included) face when it comes to understanding savings and investments is understanding the terminology in the first place, which is often written in technical language. ChatGPT can be a useful tool for explaining things in a simple way that suits your particular learning style. For instance, I asked it, ‘Can you please explain what an ISA is in simple terms, using an analogy to make it easier?’
It came back with: 'Think of an ISA like a piggy bank that the government gives you. You can put your money into the piggy bank and it will grow over time, just like how the money in a savings account or investment can grow. However, unlike a regular piggy bank, the government doesn't take any of the money that your piggy bank earns in interest or investment gains.'
3. Meal planning and grocery shopping
Meal planning can be a great way to get around overspending on groceries – or, realistically, getting the last minute Deliveroo order or eating out when you're hungry and you've forgotten to plan ahead. While sample meal plans can be found online, ChatGPT is a brilliant tool for creating a plan that is specific to your unique nutritional requirements, budget and likes/dislikes. For instance, I asked it:
“1) I cook for one and I am looking for a nutritious, balanced weekly meal plan for £15 a day, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with one snack. I would like to eat roughly 1,800 calories a day. I am allergic to strawberries and don’t eat shellfish. I would like my plan to include chicken, vegetables and rice.
Please include a grocery shopping list at the end."
It came up with a day by day meal plan tailored to my needs, with a grocery shopping list that I could copy and paste into my phone's Notes app to take with me to the supermarket.
4. Finding cheap airfares & hotel destinations
Holiday flights and accommodation can vary hugely in cost – with certain decisions (like booking flights last minute) adding a huge premium to your trip. In this case, forewarned is often forearmed – meaning you can spend that hard-earned budget on actually enjoying your destination.
I used ChatGPT to help me discover destinations I can fly to cheaply, keeping my options open so long as they stayed within a certain budget (although you could also add ‘beach’ or ‘hiking’ destinations). I also specified that the flights needed to be from my nearest airport in London – as I've found in the past that the costs to get to other airports can be almost as much as the flight itself.
Chat GPT will not only list the suitable locations to fly to, but also the airlines that fly there. I chose (well, hypothetically chose) Copenhagen via Ryanair. Useful! You can then ask it to research accommodation e.g. Can you find some affordable hotels to stay at alone in Copenhagen?
For this prompt, it listed five options, including both shared and private rooms, priced between £20 and £80. I could also have got more specific, and clarified my budget per night, ideal location and whether I'd be happy with a shared room.
5. Creating a financial plan
While – just to reinforce Ellie's disclaimer – you shouldn't be basing your life decisions on a robot's advice, ChatGPT can provide rough financial suggestions for how to chunk up your money, for instance helping you to meet a certain savings goal.
‘I am 27 years old living in London, I make £3,000 a month and have debts of £5,00. My fixed expenses each month are £2,760 on rent, £120 on utilities, £90 on gym, and I'd like to save up £750. In terms of non-essentail expenses, I don't mind spending money on eating out, but I'd like to reduce how much I spend on clothes.'
Trying to limit your spending when approaching a particular challenge, like birthday party-planning or buying a car, or being a wedding guest, and need some advice? Chat GPT has got your back. For instance, I asked it a hypothetical scenario based on a real-life problem I recently heard a friend mention: 'I've been invited to a colleague's wedding, but I'm worried about how much it will cost. How do I limit my spending?' It came up with lots of helpful suggestions, like splitting the cost of a gift with another guest, planning travel in advance and opting out of some events if they may be expensive (for instance, not attending the hen if it is over budget).
