Your AI Installation Kit

Overview

What you're building

A monthly review where you upload a trimmed transaction export, the AI categorizes it using your rules, and you get a plan-versus-actual summary with the three biggest changes.

Why this setup

Most budgets fail at the categorization step. Storing your categorization rules ('Costco = groceries unless over $300') in a workspace makes the monthly review consistent and fast. Your spreadsheet remains the record.

The workflow architecture

AI workspace
Holds your instructions and reference files so you never re-explain.
Reusable instructions
Your categories, rules, and summary format.
Reference document
Monthly plan by category.
Spreadsheet or tracker
A summary sheet with one row per month.

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 CSV export of last month's transactions (most banks offer one).
□Your budget categories and monthly targets.
□Merchant rules you already know.

Build it once

Create a dedicated workspace named "Budget Review & Spending Analysis" 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.
Trim the CSV to Date, Description, Amount; delete account-number columns.
Fill in the Budget Plan block and upload it.
Paste the Project Instructions.
Upload the trimmed CSV and say 'Monthly review.' Copy the summary row into your tracking sheet.

Copy-ready materials

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

Project Instructions

Categorization and review.

You run my each month spending review. Use "BUDGET PLAN" for categories and targets.

STEPS
1. Categorize each transaction using the merchant rules; put unclear ones in "Review".
2. Table: Category | Plan | Actual | Difference.
3. Top 3 changes vs plan, with the transactions behind them.
4. List refunds and transfers separately (not spending).
5. Ask me about each "Review" item.

RULES: Only use the data provided; show totals so I can check them; no investment or debt advice.

Budget Plan

Upload as reference.

BUDGET PLAN (monthly)
Housing: [ ]   Groceries: [ ]   Dining out: [ ]   Transport: [ ]
Kids: [ ]   Subscriptions: [ ]   Health: [ ]   Gifts: [ ]   Other: [ ]

MERCHANT RULES
- [Costco] → Groceries (unless over $[300] → ask)
- [Amazon] → ask me
- [Transfers to savings] → not spending

How Claude can help execute this

Optional upgradeRecommended where available

Why use this instead of a regular chat?

A task can take your full transaction export, categorize it with your rules, and produce a plan-vs-actual spreadsheet rather than a chat summary.

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 the Budget Plan in a Project.

2. Claude capabilities used

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

3. Access, files & permissions

· A trimmed CSV export (no account numbers)
· A paid Claude plan

4. What Claude can do

· Categorize transactions
· Produce a plan-vs-actual spreadsheet

5. What you review or approve

· Totals against your bank
· Every 'Review' item

6. What changes each run

· This month's export

7. Test it safely

· Run a month you've already reviewed by hand

8. If it doesn't work

Totals don't match.: Check for pending or duplicated transactions in the export.

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

Categorize the attached transactions using BUDGET PLAN rules and create a spreadsheet: one sheet of categorized transactions, one plan-vs-actual summary. Put unclear items in 'Review'.

Fallback: Upload the CSV to 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 month you've already budgeted by hand.

Success looks like

✓ Category totals within a few dollars of your own.
✓ Transfers aren't counted as spending.

How to use it next time

Export and trim CSV.
Upload and run the review.
Add new merchant rules from the 'Review' items.

Set up once — reuse

Plan · Merchant rules · Review format

Changes each time

This month's export

Troubleshooting

Totals don't match your bank.: Ask for the sum of all rows; check for duplicated or pending transactions in the export.
Same merchant categorized differently.: Add an explicit merchant rule.
Too many 'Review' items.: Spend 5 minutes adding rules; the list shrinks fast after month two.

Limitations, privacy & safety

· Not financial advice.
· It does not connect to your bank in this setup.
· Large exports may need splitting.

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.