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At a glance:
ChatGPT can be a useful money tool when used carefully, but only if you understand its limits and protect your personal information:
- ChatGPT can help you build budgets, map debt repayment options and run “what if” scenarios
- It can compare financial products and explain concepts, but its outputs must always be double-checked
- It cannot access your accounts, track spending in real time or guarantee investment returns
- Sensitive personal and financial information should never be shared
- Sense-checking decisions and seeking professional advice remain essential for long-term financial safety
5 ways to (safely) use ChatGPT to manage your money
Gone are the days when artificial intelligence was a futuristic concept reserved for tech conferences and sci-fi films. It’s already sitting in people’s pockets, helping them write emails, plan vacations and answer everyday questions. Unsurprisingly, many South Africans are starting to ask a more serious question: can tools like ChatGPT help me manage my money?
The short answer is yes, but only if you understand what it can do, what it can’t do and where human judgement still matters most.
Used responsibly, ChatGPT can be a helpful planning and learning tool. Used carelessly, it can expose sensitive information or give a false sense of certainty. Here’s how to use it wisely.
Start with the right mindset
Always remember that the “intelligence” in artificial intelligence is still no match for human intelligence. That’s why ChatGPT works best as a thinking partner, not a financial authority. It can help you organise information, explore options and sense-check ideas, but it cannot see your bank account, access live product pricing or replace professional advice.
Think of it as a notebook that talks back: useful for clarity, not for handing over control.
1. Earning and expenses: getting clarity, not tracking live data
ChatGPT can’t connect to your bank or track your spending in real time. What it can do is help you make sense of your money once you’ve done the upfront work of summarising it.
For example, after reviewing a few months of bank statements yourself, you might ask:
“Based on these monthly expense categories and amounts, help me group them into needs, wants and obligations, and highlight where small changes could free up cash.”
The output would be a clear, organised snapshot of your spending, with expenses grouped logically. You can then use this to spot where money is being wasted, decide which categories are worth questioning, and choose where to focus your attention first.
It won’t tell you what to cut or make decisions for you. But by turning messy data into a more readable picture, it helps you move from vague financial anxiety to specific, practical next steps.
2. Debt: building a repayment plan you can understand
Debt is where many people feel most overwhelmed and where clarity can bring immediate relief.
ChatGPT can help you map out a repayment strategy if you provide non-personal, high-level information, such as balances, interest rates and minimum payments.
A useful prompt might be:
“I have three debts with the following balances, interest rates and minimum payments due. Can you show me which debt is most expensive over time and model a repayment plan using the avalanche and snowball methods?”
The value here is in more than just the maths. It’s seeing your options laid out in a neutral way, without shame or pressure. That perspective can make it easier to commit to a plan or to recognise when professional help, like debt counselling, may be needed.
Top tip: The avalanche method focuses on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, saving you money over time. The snowball method prioritises the smallest balance first, which can build momentum and motivation early on.
3. Spending: creating a realistic budget
ChatGPT is far better at helping you build a budget than enforcing one (self-discipline is still very much a human responsibility). But if you struggle to design a budget that reflects real life, it can help you create a structure based on your priorities, irregular expenses and income.
For example, you might ask:
“Help me create a monthly budget based on my income, fixed expenses, variable costs and savings goals. Please include categories for irregular annual expenses.”
The output would be a clear, itemised budget laid out in categories, with suggested monthly amounts and space for adjustments. While it won’t link to your bank account or update automatically, you can easily copy the structure into a spreadsheet, budgeting app or notebook and refine it over time.
It won’t be perfect, but it gives you a usable framework; something you can work with and adapt, rather than a budget you abandon after two weeks.
4. Saving and investing: comparing options and exploring different outcomes
This is where that fine line we mentioned earlier matters most. ChatGPT can break down financial concepts, compare different products and their features, and show how hypothetical calculations might play out. But it is very important to remember that it cannot guarantee returns or confirm product suitability.
A responsible use case might be:
“Compare TFSA products in South Africa based on fees, flexibility around withdrawals and the investment choices inside each account. What should I look out for before choosing one?”
You can then go a step further:
“If I contribute R3,000 a month to a TFSA for 20 years at an assumed annual return of 7% and fees of x, what would the projected value be?”
These scenarios are helpful for understanding potential outcomes, not for making final decisions. Every output should be double-checked with providers and independent sources before making a decision.
5. Insurance: sense-checking cover against inflation
Insurance needs change over time, often without us noticing. ChatGPT can help you sense-check whether your cover has kept pace with inflation and lifestyle changes.
For example:
“I need to increase my life cover to ensure it keeps up with inflation. Help me think through how to calculate an appropriate amount based on my dependants and income.”
This doesn’t replace an adviser, but it prepares you to ask better questions when you do speak to one.
What ChatGPT is good for
ChatGPT is particularly strong at explaining financial concepts in plain language. It therefore works best as a planning, learning and organisation tool, not a replacement for a financial adviser or a vault for sensitive data.
It can’t tell you which stocks to pick, but it can help you:
- Understand unfamiliar terms
- Compare strategies
- Organise financial goals
- Build checklists for reviews and renewals
- Sense-check decisions before acting
That last point matters. Pausing to ask, “What am I missing?” creates space for reflection, context and second thoughts, often revealing risks, fees or assumptions you may have overlooked. In money decisions, that brief moment of sense-checking can be the difference between a choice that costs you for years and one you make with confidence and clarity.
What not to do with ChatGPT and your money
- Don’tshare personally identifiable information (PII)
Avoid entering:
- Your full name, ID or passport numbers
- Your home address
- Your bank account or card details
- Your login credentials or passwords
Once shared, you lose control over where that information could surface.
- Don’tupload sensitive financial documents
This includes:
- Tax returns
- Payslips
- Investment statements
- Detailed income or net worth breakdowns
These documents reveal earnings, assets and habits, which is exactly the data needed for fraud or targeted scams.
A tool, not a shortcut
Used thoughtfully, ChatGPT can make mhoney feel less intimidating. It can help you organise chaos, understand trade-offs and approach decisions with greater preparedness.
But it works best when paired with judgement, independent research and, when needed, professional advice. ChatGPT can do a lot of impressive things, but that doesn’t make it a genie in a bottle. Your financial future still belongs to you. This is simply one more tool to help you navigate it with clarity.