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I'm always on the lookout for apps or tools that can make personal finance easier and more accessible for everyone. Over the past year or so, I've used ChatGPT a surprising amount — to put together manageable workout plans, create schedules for all those endless home maintenance projects I keep ignoring, and even plan out how to actually achieve some of my bigger goals.

Because here's the thing: Big projects have a sneaky way of slipping through the cracks if I don't break them down into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

So when Eve, our nanny, casually mentioned that she wanted to save money this summer — but was feeling stuck on exactly how to make it happen — I practically jumped up and down.

"You know what we should do?" I asked, with probably too much excitement. "Let's see what ChatGPT has to say! It can help you turn your goal into something doable. And if it goes well, I can even write an article about it!"

Eve looked skeptical, as anyone might when their overly enthusiastic employer suddenly thrusts them into the role of a financial guinea pig. But, being a good sport (and probably sensing I wasn't going to let this go), she gamely sat down with my laptop and started typing.

At first, she was hesitant — unsure what to ask or how to phrase things. She worried she needed to sound like a financial planner or a programmer. But after some reassurance ("Just talk to it like you'd talk to me!"), she began to loosen up and started enjoying the back-and-forth process.

After about 30 minutes, Eve didn't just have a vague summer goal to "save extra money" and "pay down her credit card." She had a realistic, clearly defined, and actually achievable financial plan — one that broke her big goals down into smaller, manageable steps, complete with checklists and even timelines for exactly when to do what.

In fact, she walked away excited (yes, excited!) about her new summer financial plan.

And today, I want to share exactly how she used ChatGPT to get there — and how you can do the very same thing for your own financial goals, totally free.

Ready? Let's jump in.

Eve started with a financial goal typical of many 22 year olds: "I want to save the extra money I'm making this summer to pay down my credit card and maybe save for a trip."

That's a pretty good goal, right? It's specific-ish. It has a clear timeframe. But when we paused to talk about it a little more, Eve hit a very common snag — she realized her plan had zero details.

"How much extra money are you actually expecting to make?" I asked her.

She shrugged.

"How much debt do you realistically want to pay down?"

Another shrug.

"What kind of trip are we talking about here?"

This got a smile, but still... no specifics.

To be clear, Eve's situation is a prime example of why so many people have trouble achieving their financial goals. She has good intentions and the start of a decent idea. But because she doesn't have clear numbers or a realistic sense of what's achievable, her good intentions tend to just hang there — vague, hazy, and very hard to put into practice.

Eve was also pretty honest about her past financial struggles. She openly admitted that:

- She can be impulsive, especially after a long day. (Who hasn't mindlessly swiped their card for an iced coffee run just to survive a hectic afternoon?)

- She's pretty good at automating transfers or payments, but terrible about manually setting aside money. (Again, who isn't?)

- And above all, she really, really didn't want to set herself up for failure. If she was going to do this, the plan needed to actually fit into her life.

If this sounds familiar to you, good news — you're exactly the kind of person who can benefit most from this exercise.

How Eve Used ChatGPT to Create Her Personalized Financial Goal

Here's exactly how Eve and I worked with ChatGPT to turn that fuzzy goal into a clear, achievable plan. You can follow these steps exactly as we did — we used ChatGPT's free plan, with version 4.0, for every step of this process — just with your own numbers and goals.

Step 1: Tell ChatGPT Your Basic Goal — in Your Own Words

When Eve opened ChatGPT, she immediately asked, "Wait, what do I even say?" She thought maybe she needed to speak in some technical AI-friendly language.

"Nope," I reassured her. "Just tell it exactly what you told me, in your own words. Then you can add, ‘Please provide any feedback or insights you have on this plan and where I can make improvements to better meet my goals. I know you'll probably need more specific information, so please ask me any questions and I'll provide more details.'"

She typed exactly that into ChatGPT:

"I want to save extra money this summer to pay down my credit card debt and save for a trip. Please provide any feedback or insights on this plan, and where I can improve. I know you'll probably need more specific information, so please ask me questions and I'll provide more details."

Your Turn: Use your own everyday language. Seriously, it can be as simple as, "I want to save money to pay off debt and have more in savings. How can I make this better? Ask me any questions if you need more info."

Step 2: Let ChatGPT Ask Clarifying Questions

ChatGPT immediately asked Eve some useful questions. Things like...

"What's your estimated income for the summer months?"
"How much credit card debt do you want to pay off specifically?"
"Do you have a specific savings goal for the trip?"
"What do your typical monthly expenses look like?"
"Do you have any spending habits or preferences that are important for creating your plan?"

Eve answered honestly and clearly, using rough but realistic numbers:

Estimated summer income: Around $2,500/month, with room for extra shifts
Credit card debt goal: $1,500 paid off
Savings for trip: Roughly $500
Typical expenses: About $1,800 on rent, groceries, gas, and "too much random stuff at Target"
Spending habits: "I don't do well if things feel restrictive or too rule-based."

Your Turn: Give ChatGPT your honest, best guess. "I think I'll have around $__ extra. I'd like to pay off $__ in debt and save $_. My monthly expenses are usually about $. I don't like feeling restricted, so a plan that's realistic and flexible would be helpful."

Step 3: Evaluate the Plan ChatGPT Gives You (And Speak Up!)

ChatGPT then gave Eve a surprisingly detailed game plan. It suggested specific weekly savings transfers, ideas for small ways to boost her savings, and even some tips to cut back on spending.

Eve genuinely liked about 90% of it — but there was one suggestion she wasn't thrilled about: setting "no-spend rules" like "no coffee runs" or "no extra spending at Target."

"This would probably make me feel guilty every time I broke the rules," she admitted. "I know myself. I'd feel like a failure whenever I caved and got a latte after a rough morning."

This honesty was important because it meant we could adjust the plan to actually suit her.

"You should tell ChatGPT that," I encouraged. "This is your plan. It needs to actually work for you."

She typed something like this back into ChatGPT:

"I like these suggestions, but the ‘no-spend' rules make me feel stressed and guilty. Can we find other ways to limit impulse buys without these strict rules?"

And ChatGPT immediately adjusted the plan with suggestions that felt more positive to her, like a small weekly "fun fund" for impulse buys, rather than an outright ban.

Your Turn: Be honest about what will really work for you. "I really like most of your ideas, but I don't think I'd stick to [specific suggestion]. Can you suggest something less restrictive instead?"

Step 4: Double-Check ChatGPT's Math (Seriously, Do This)

Once Eve was happy with the adjusted suggestions ChatGPT gave her, she was nearly bouncing in her chair.

"Look!" she said. "It says if I transfer just $65 into savings every paycheck, I'll have $3,000 saved up by the end of summer! That's amazing!"

I paused. "Wait a second," I said gently. "How exactly did ChatGPT get $3,000 from transferring $65 each week?"

She stopped for a second and did the mental math herself, realizing immediately it didn't add up.

"Oh, shoot," she sighed. "$65 a week for about 10 weeks is more like... $650. Not $3,000."

Here's a crucial step many people miss when using tools like ChatGPT — always double-check the math.

But here's the beauty of ChatGPT... you can also ask it for clarification. Eve typed in: "The $3,000 sounds great, but can you explain exactly how you got to that number?"

Turns out, ChatGPT had a good explanation — sort of. The $3,000 figure was the total amount of money it expected Eve to either save or use to pay down her debt. Once we clarified that, ChatGPT recalculated and presented Eve with a more realistic breakdown. Still helpful, just a bit clearer — and mathematically correct!

Your Turn: Don't feel shy about asking ChatGPT directly, "Can you double-check that number for me? How exactly did you calculate it?" If something doesn't seem right, keep asking. ChatGPT's strength is conversational clarity — use it!

Step 5: Get ChatGPT to Summarize Your Plan (in a Nice, Printable Format)

At this point, Eve had a solid financial plan — but it was still scattered throughout a long conversation. And let's be honest: Nobody wants to scroll through a giant wall of text every time they want to remind themselves what they agreed to.

"Why don't you ask ChatGPT to summarize everything neatly for you?" I suggested. "You can even ask it to format it so you can print it out and hang it on your fridge."

She typed in: "Could you please give me a detailed summary of our final plan? Format it clearly with checklists and specific dates or milestones so I can print it out and follow along."

Within seconds, ChatGPT had neatly organized her summer financial game plan. It included:

- A weekly checklist of how much to transfer into savings and debt repayment.
- Clear milestones for debt repayment and travel savings, with realistic dates attached.
- An encouraging reminder section, like "Remember, you have $15/week as your fun fund. It's okay to enjoy that coffee guilt-free!"

Eve was thrilled. She printed it out immediately so she could stick it on her fridge when she got home at the end of the day, visible every morning when she grabbed her breakfast.

"I feel like I'm actually going to do this," she said, smiling. "I mean, I have a real checklist now. It feels manageable, not overwhelming."

Your Turn: Use Eve's exact wording to request your own summary from ChatGPT: "Could you please give me a detailed summary of our final plan? Format it with checklists and specific dates or milestones so I can print it out and follow along."

Having your plan clearly laid out and visible makes it way more likely you'll stick to it.

The Result: Eve Actually Likes Her Financial Plan

When we started, Eve had just a vague idea of "doing better with money this summer." Now, thanks to a simple conversation with ChatGPT, she has:

- Realistic goals for debt repayment and savings.
- A personalized plan built around her personality, preferences, and habits.
- A tangible, visual checklist and timeline to keep her accountable and encouraged.

Best of all, she genuinely feels excited about it — not anxious or overwhelmed (which is her default emotion). As of posting this article, she's already made her first few transfers and loves coloring in her savings tracker (yes, we printed one of those, too!).

At the end of the month, she's excited to see how much progress she's made. And to be honest, I am too.

How to Use ChatGPT to Create a Plan You'll Actually Follow

To make it super easy, here's your quick-reference guide to doing exactly what Eve did, step-by-step:

1. Tell ChatGPT Your Basic Goal (in Your Own Words). "I want to save $__ and pay down $__ debt by [date]. Please provide insights or improvements. Feel free to ask questions."

2. Answer ChatGPT's Follow-up Questions. Be honest and realistic about your income, expenses, goals, and spending habits.

3. Evaluate and Adjust ChatGPT's Suggestions. Speak up if something doesn't suit your personality or habits: "I like these ideas, but [this suggestion] probably won't work for me. Can you suggest alternatives?"

4. Double-Check the Math. If numbers seem off, don't hesitate: "Can you explain exactly how you calculated this number?"

5. Request a Printable Summary. Turn your conversation into a tangible action plan: "Please summarize my final plan clearly, formatted with checklists and dates so I can print it and easily follow."

Now It's Your Turn

The beauty of what Eve did (and you can do too!) is that it takes an overwhelming, vague financial goal and breaks it into a clear, actionable set of steps. ChatGPT is an incredibly useful tool to help you get specific and realistic — and you don't have to speak like a financial expert or computer programmer to do it.

Whether your goal is saving for a trip, paying down debt, building an emergency fund, or something else entirely, you can do exactly what Eve did — today, completely free, right from your phone or computer.

You don't have to be perfect or have everything figured out. Just start the conversation. Your future self will thank you — and so will your savings account.