Better managing your expenses thanks to AI

While artificial intelligence (AI) is often used to write emails, summarise documents or quickly obtain explanations, it can also be useful in the day-to-day management of your finances. myLIFE presents a few practical situations in which AI can help you better manage your budget and identify ways to optimise your spending.*

François, 38, is an IT specialist in a large company in Luxembourg City. Married with two children, he earns a comfortable living. However, between repaying the loan on his house, his fixed expenses, groceries, outings and the children’s activities, he often feels he spends too much and does not put enough money aside. Although he already uses AI in his work for certain technical tasks, such as generating or correcting code, he has never really used it in his personal life. Without replacing human analysis, it could nevertheless help him better organise his finances on a daily basis. Here are a few practical ideas.

AI to better organise your shopping and meals

As in many households, food shopping is a significant area of expenditure. Feeding a family of four, with additional specific dietary requirements – the youngest has just announced that she no longer wants to eat meat – is costly and requires organisation.

To help him better control his food expenses, François could use AI in several ways. For example, he could use it to:

• • Plan the family’s meals by creating a balanced weekly menu that takes into account his budget, favours seasonal products (which are less expensive) and incorporates everyone’s dietary constraints.
  • Prepare a shopping list corresponding to the planned menus, detailing quantities, avoiding duplicates and suggesting cheaper alternatives.
  • Suggest recipe ideas based on the remaining food in the fridge in order to avoid waste.

At present, generative AI is still not reliable for comparing prices across different retailers. It does not always have access to real-time updated data and sometimes compares different products.

Good to know: currently, generative AI (ChatGPT and others) is still not reliable for comparing prices across different retailers. It does not always have access to real-time updated data and sometimes compares different products. Certain specialised applications integrating AI may therefore provide better results.

The family can use these tips to better plan their purchases, control day-to-day spending and avoid waste.

To compare products and services

François could also use AI to prepare a major purchase and help him choose between several products or services. By describing his objectives and constraints, he could ask it to compare options, summarise conditions or highlight differences based on the information provided. This would allow him to have an overview of the information that could help him make his decision based on the criteria that are important to him.

This approach could be useful, for example, to:

• • Compare mobile phone, internet or energy supplier subscriptions and help him identify those that best meet the family’s needs.
  • Prepare a major purchase (computer, household appliances, furniture, car, etc.) by synthesising technical specifications, strengths and weaknesses or user feedback.
  • Make it easier to read quotations (for example, from tradespeople for renovation work) by detecting differences and explaining technical passages.

As well as helping them make certain decisions, artificial intelligence could also assist him in drafting a termination letter or a request for a tariff review.

Good to know: commercial offers evolve quickly and may vary according to several factors (temporary promotions, different prices depending on the region, loyalty discounts, availability, etc.). It is essential to remember that AI relies on the information it finds. It is therefore important to ensure that this information is sufficiently complete and always up to date.

To reduce your energy expenses

AI could be used to better understand the family’s energy consumption and identify ways to save money on a daily basis.

It could thus:

• • Compare different equipment or energy solutions (types of heating, solar panels, etc.) according to the characteristics of the home and the household’s consumption habits.
  • Suggest good practices for reducing energy expenditure: advice on temperature management, energy-intensive appliances to monitor, reminders of off-peak hours, etc.
  • Propose home automation solutions likely to help the family better control expenses: connected thermostat, smart lighting, automatic shutdown of certain devices, shutter programming, etc.

Good to know: AI is essentially based on the information provided to it and does not replace the expertise of an energy adviser or on-site measurements. However, it can help guide research and share good practices.

The more precise the information shared with AI, the more relevant the results are likely to be. However, it remains essential to verify the data.

To optimise transport costs

François mainly uses his car on a daily basis, but he would like to use free public transport or his bicycle more often. Thanks to AI, he could compare different options in order to optimise his journeys, reduce travel-related costs and limit his environmental footprint.

AI could therefore help him to:

• • Optimise his routes to avoid unnecessary detours, particularly on days when he has to pick up his children from school, go shopping, take the youngest to volleyball, etc.
  • Estimate the cost of different modes of transport: fuel, parking, public transport, travel time, etc.
  • Assess expenses related to a petrol, electric or hybrid vehicle according to his travel habits: purchase or leasing, energy/fuel costs, insurance, maintenance, charging equipment, etc.

Good to know: the more precise the information shared with AI, the more relevant the results are likely to be. However, it remains essential to verify the data.

To organise leisure activities

The family enjoys going away for weekends and making the most of holidays to discover new places and original activities. AI could help them find ways to reduce certain leisure expenses without giving up travelling altogether.

For example, it could:

• • Compare different transport and accommodation options based on a specific budget, while taking into account the duration of the trip and various costs (luggage, insurance, etc.).
  • Suggest periods when prices may be more advantageous for travelling.
  • Provide itinerary, visit and meal break suggestions with more economical options: toll-free routes, free or low-cost activities, local restaurants, etc.

Travel planners and flight comparison tools using artificial intelligence can therefore save time and identify opportunities, provided that prices, availability and displayed conditions are always checked.

Good to know: some AIs can also help identify unusual elements in a rental listing or tourist offer: abnormally low prices, duplicated photos, inconsistent descriptions, etc. However, AI does not guarantee the reliability or accuracy of the listing. It is still necessary to check reviews and the credibility of the service offered.

To improve budget management and monitoring

Although François and his wife try to pay attention to their finances, they sometimes find it difficult to track all the small everyday purchases that eventually weigh on their budget. Here again, AI can provide ideas to better monitor and organise their budget.

It could thus be used to help them:

• • analyse their financial data (by categorising expenses, detecting recurring charges, etc.) and identify areas for optimisation.
  • draw up a simple budget and suggest an allocation of spending categories, taking into account income, fixed expenses, consumption habits and financial objectives.
  • obtain ideas for better organising their budget, savings or certain financial projects through virtual assistants integrated into specialised applications. Some of these assistants can recommend the banking package best suited to your situation and spending habits.

Good to know: budget management applications integrating AI (such as account aggregators) can be directly connected to bank accounts (current, savings, credit cards) and analyse spending and consumption habits. However, it is important to remain cautious and ensure that the application is recognised, complies with current regulations and that data is secure. Likewise, you should never share sensitive personal data (bank details, passwords, etc.) with generative AI.

Generative AI most often acts as a decision-support tool, whereas specialised applications integrating AI are mainly used to organise and analyse data. In all cases, they do not replace either professional expertise or human verification.

François intends to make the most of these technologies to save time and find ideas for saving money in his daily life. However, he remains aware of their limitations. While AI can help him monitor his budget, compare products or provide general information, it is not infallible. Generative AI most often acts as a decision-support tool, whereas specialised applications integrating AI are mainly used to organise and analyse data. In all cases, they do not replace either professional expertise or human verification.

Even though generative AI continues to improve rapidly, it may produce inaccurate, biased or outdated information. It is therefore essential to maintain a critical mindset and always verify the information provided, particularly when it concerns financial management.

* Content translated from French by the BIL GPT AI tool