Your AI Installation Kit

Overview

What you're building

A bill tracker spreadsheet (your master list) plus a monthly review session. You paste this month's amounts; the AI compares them to last month and flags anything unusual, missing, or newly higher.

Why this setup

Missed bills are a tracking problem, not a writing problem. The spreadsheet is the tool; the AI is a second pair of eyes during review. AI tools in this setup cannot see your bank or pay anything — that keeps your money safe and you in control.

The workflow architecture

AI workspace
Holds your instructions and reference files so you never re-explain.
Spreadsheet or tracker
Bill tracker: payee, due day, typical amount, autopay, account (last 4).
Calendar as source of truth
Due-date reminders in your calendar or banking app.
Reusable instructions
Monthly comparison and anomaly flags.
Repeat-use checklist
Monthly review steps.

You haven't picked a tool yet, so this kit is platform-neutral. Both Claude and ChatGPT support this setup.

Claude	ChatGPT
Claude Projects: instructions + project knowledge files	ChatGPT Projects: instructions + uploaded files
Optional Claude Skills for reusing a format across chats (plan-dependent)	Personalization settings can hold short preferences
Paid plan needed for Projects	Plan determines Project and file limits

What to prepare

□A list of every recurring bill (look at two months of bank statements).
□Due dates and whether each is on autopay.
□A recurring 20-minute slot each month.

Build it once

Create a dedicated workspace named "Household Bill Tracking & Monthly Review" in the AI tool you choose. Both Claude and ChatGPT call this a "Project". Claude offers Projects on all plans; ChatGPT availability depends on your plan.
Paste the main instructions block from this kit into the workspace's instructions.
Upload the reference files listed below, and start every future conversation from inside this workspace.
Build the tracker using the Tracker Columns block.
Set reminders for non-autopay bills in your calendar or bank app.
Paste the Project Instructions into the workspace (or keep them in a note and paste at the start of a chat).
At month end, paste the tracker (payee and amounts only) and say 'Monthly review.'

Copy-ready materials

Edit anything in [BRACKETS]. Changes are kept when you save the kit.

Tracker Columns

Spreadsheet header row.

Payee | Category (housing, utility, insurance, phone…) | Due day | Typical amount | Autopay? (Y/N) | Pay from (last 4 only) | [MONTH] amount | Paid? (Y/N) | Notes

Monthly Review Instructions

Paste into the workspace.

You help me review household bills each time it comes up. I'll paste a table of payees and amounts (no account numbers).

FOR "Monthly review":
1. List any bill marked unpaid or missing an amount.
2. Flag amounts more than [10]% above the typical amount, with the difference.
3. Note any new payee not seen before.
4. Give a 3-line summary: total this month vs typical, biggest change, action items.

RULES: Only use numbers I provide. Do not give investment, tax, or credit advice. Never ask for account numbers or logins.

Monthly Review Checklist

20 minutes.

□ Fill in this month's amounts from bank/bill emails
□ Mark paid / unpaid
□ Run the AI review
□ Investigate flagged increases (call or check provider site)
□ Update typical amounts if a change is permanent
□ Confirm next month's reminders exist

How Claude can help execute this

Optional upgradeRecommended where available

Why use this instead of a regular chat?

A task can read this month's bill PDFs or statement export you provide and update a copy of your tracker with amounts and flags. It never pays anything or confirms a payment was made — your bank is the authority.

Task execution needs a paid Claude plan. Add your plan in My AI Setup for a more specific recommendation.
This involves sensitive information. Keep Claude asking before it acts (the default), and approve each step.

Availability depends on your Claude plan and device. Add them in My AI Setup for a more specific recommendation.

1. Set up once

· Keep your bill tracker spreadsheet as the source of truth.
· Create a Project with the Monthly Review Instructions.

2. Claude capabilities used

· Multi-step task execution (Cowork-style)
· Files saved to your Claude account
· Scheduled tasks

3. Access, files & permissions

· This month's bills or a trimmed statement export (no account numbers)
· A paid Claude plan

4. What Claude can do

· Compare amounts to typical amounts and flag changes
· List bills with no amount found this month

5. What you review or approve

· Whether each bill was actually paid — check your bank or provider
· Any flagged increase before acting on it

6. What changes each run

· This month's bills and amounts

7. Test it safely

· Run on last month's files with one amount deliberately changed

8. If it doesn't work

It says a bill is 'paid'.: It can only see what's in your files. Treat 'paid' as unverified until you check your bank.

Run the task

If your Claude has one unified message box (no Chat/Cowork choice)

Open the Project, then describe the task in any conversation. Claude decides whether it's a quick answer or a task.

If you see separate “Chat” and “Cowork” options

In the message box, select “Cowork” in the bottom-left corner, then describe the task.
Projects work the same way in Cowork and in chat.

Task request

Using the attached bills/export and my tracker, list: bills with no amount this month, amounts more than 10% above typical, and new payees. Don't mark anything paid.

Scheduled execution (optional)

Only schedule once a manual run has passed your test. Each run is its own task you review.

Unified Claude

Describe the task and how often it should run.
Answer Claude's questions, then review the proposed name, schedule, and instructions and click “Schedule.”

Separate Cowork

Click “Scheduled” in the left sidebar to create and review scheduled tasks.

Schedule request

On the [last day of each month], remind me to run the bill review and list which bills I haven't added amounts for yet, based on the tracker file in this project.

Fallback: Paste amounts into the Project and run 'Monthly review'.

By default, Claude asks before taking an action. Keep that on for anything involving money, personal records, or files you can't replace.

How to test it

Run a review on last month with one deliberately raised amount.

Success looks like

✓ The raised amount is flagged with the correct difference.

How to use it next time

Fill in the month's column.
Paste and run 'Monthly review'.
Act on flags yourself.

Set up once — reuse

Tracker · Review instructions · Checklist

Changes each time

This month's amounts and paid status

Troubleshooting

Math looks wrong.: Ask it to show the calculation for each flag; double-check totals in your spreadsheet, which is the authority.
Forgot a bill entirely.: Every quarter, scan a bank statement for recurring payees not on the tracker.
Review never happens.: Tie it to an existing habit, e.g. the evening your paycheck arrives.

Limitations, privacy & safety

· It cannot see your accounts, pay bills, or send reminders in this setup.
· It is not financial advice.

Privacy & safety

· Never paste full account numbers, card numbers, logins, or Social Security numbers. Use the last 4 digits at most.
· Consider exporting only the columns you need (date, payee, amount, category) before sharing a statement.