A dad uploaded two years of credit card and bank statements to Claude and asked it to sort each merchant into spending categories, checking with him on unclear ones. It showed their everyday spending had risen 28% in a year, almost all of it on food, partly a growing toddler and partly a new favourite café nearby.
I'm uploading [NUMBER] months of bank and card statements (with account numbers removed). Sort every transaction into sensible categories, ask me about any merchants you're not sure of, and ignore transfers between our own accounts. Then compare this year with last year by category, show me where spending has grown the most, and suggest two or three realistic places to cut back.
Replace the [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details before you send it.
How to try it
- Download your statements as CSV or PDF and remove account numbers first.
- Let Claude categorise them, answer its questions about unclear merchants and check a few totals yourself.
- Repeat each month with the new statements to spot creeping costs early.
More money use cases
Challenge your property tax assessment with ChatGPT’s help
A Maryland homeowner fed his assessment worksheet and the local comparable-sales list into ChatGPT, which picked out where his valuation looked high and drafted the text for a written appeal. The first appeal cut his assessment by $25,000, a modest saving of about $362 a year, and he has since appealed again.
I want to appeal my [PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT / COUNCIL TAX BAND]. Here are the details from my assessment: [PASTE KEY FIGURES OR DOCUMENT TEXT], and here are recent sales or bands of similar homes nearby: [PASTE COMPARABLES]. Tell me which points look strongest and weakest for an appeal, what evidence I'd still need, and draft a short, polite written appeal I can adapt. Don't overstate anything.
Beat a pricey insurance renewal quote with ChatGPT
When her home insurance renewal went up by £157, a mum from Inverness asked ChatGPT what to do. It suggested adjusting the excess, negotiating with her insurer and what to say on the phone, and she found cover £190 cheaper.
My [HOME/CAR] insurance renewal has gone up from [OLD PRICE] to [NEW PRICE]. Comparison sites show [WHAT YOU FOUND]. Give me 1) the policy settings I could sensibly adjust (excess, extras, payment method) and the trade-offs, 2) a short phone script to ask my insurer for a better price, and 3) what to check before I switch.
Audit a huge hospital bill line by line with Claude
After a relative's death, a family used Claude to go through a $195,000 itemised hospital bill. It flagged charges billed both as a whole procedure and again as components, plus coding problems, and their letters helped bring the bill down to about $33,000.
I've been sent an itemised bill with billing codes: [PASTE CODES, DESCRIPTIONS AND AMOUNTS]. Go through it line by line. Group the charges, explain what each code normally covers, and flag possible duplicates (for example a main procedure billed again as separate parts), codes that don't match [THE TYPE OF VISIT, E.G. EMERGENCY], and anything you'd question. Then draft a calm, factual letter requesting a review of each flagged line.
Reference: Tom Mansfield (LinkedIn)