From HOW TO // AI Newsletter · howtoai.com

20 prompts that make AI your personal finance translator — for every money question you’ve been putting off.


💡 How to use this template: Duplicate this page into your Notion workspace. Find the section that matches your situation, copy the prompt, paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini, fill in the brackets, and go. None of this is financial advice — it’s a starting point for understanding and thinking more clearly about your money.


📋 Table of Contents

  1. Budgeting & Spending
  2. Bills & Negotiation
  3. Understanding Money
  4. Investing & Growing Money
  5. Big Goals & Life Moments

💵 Budgeting & Spending

Build a Real Monthly Budget

Help me build a simple monthly budget.

My take-home income: [$X per month]
My fixed expenses (rent, car, subscriptions, etc.):
[list them with amounts]
My variable spending (food, going out, shopping, etc.):
[rough estimates]
My current savings: [$X]
My goal: [e.g. save for a holiday / pay off debt /
build an emergency fund]

Give me:
- A realistic budget breakdown
- Where I'm likely leaking money
- One specific thing I can change this week
- A simple way to track it without a complicated app

Find Where My Money Is Going

I feel like I'm spending more than I should but I'm
not sure where it's going.

Help me audit my spending. Here are my rough monthly
expenses:
[list everything you can think of]

Tell me:
- Which categories seem high compared to typical
  benchmarks
- What I might be forgetting or underestimating
- 3 areas where I could realistically cut back without
  hating my life
- One "quick win" I could act on today

Build a Spending Tracker System

I want to actually track my spending this month but
I don't want a complicated app.

Design a simple system for me using [Notion / a
spreadsheet / pen and paper — pick what works for you].

Include:
- What categories to track
- How often to update it (daily, weekly?)
- What numbers to look at at the end of the month
- A simple weekly check-in routine that takes under
  5 minutes

Cut Expenses Without Misery