{"id":"life-job-monthly-budget-statements","audience":"job-seekers","category":"everyday-life","track":"life","technique":"examples","title":"Build a bare-bones monthly budget from your statements","free":false,"task":"You were laid off and want to know your must-pay monthly costs while you look for work. From last month's bank statement, list only the essential bills as numbered lines like \"1. Rent: $1,150\", leaving out one-time and optional spending, then a Total line with the addition shown, then a line saying how many months your $6,400 savings covers, with the division shown. Under 100 words, plain text. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"Last month's bank statement and notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"MAPLE CREDIT UNION - CHECKING STATEMENT, OCTOBER 2026 (fictional)\nAccount holder: Renee Castillo\n\n10/01  Oakridge Apartments - rent              -$1,150.00\n10/02  StreamPlus subscription                     -$15.99\n10/03  City Power & Light                          -$84.00\n10/05  Harbor Auto Loan                           -$265.00\n10/06  FitZone gym                                 -$39.00\n10/08  Grocery Barn                                -$96.40\n10/10  Lakeside Mobile - phone                     -$45.00\n10/12  Rideline Auto Insurance                    -$118.00\n10/14  Concert tickets - The Driftwoods           -$140.00\n10/15  Grocery Barn                               -$104.10\n10/18  Student loan - FedServe                    -$180.00\n10/20  Coffee Corner                               -$22.75\n10/22  Grocery Barn                                -$99.50\n10/25  Netlink Internet                            -$60.00\n10/28  Birthday gift for Mom                       -$75.00\n10/29  Grocery Barn                               -$100.00\n10/31  Final paycheck - Arlo Logistics          +$2,210.00\n\nMy notes:\n- Savings balance: $6,400\n- Groceries: I'll treat four trips as $400/month\n- Student loan: I applied for unemployment deferment, but it's not approved yet, so keep it in\n- Gym and streaming I can cancel\n- Unemployment benefits haven't started, don't count them yet","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":100},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Counting everything you spent","why":"The AI totals the whole statement, including the concert and gift, so the monthly number is too high.","fix":"Add: \"Only must-pay bills. Leave out one-time and optional spending.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Not showing one line","why":"The AI picks a table or categories, which breaks in plain text and hides the math.","fix":"Show it: \"Format each line like: 1. Rent: $1,150\".","checks":["r1","plainText"]},{"title":"Missing the notes","why":"The AI adds up each grocery trip separately or drops the student loan the notes say to keep.","fix":"Add: \"Groceries as one $400 line. Keep the student loan.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"No runway line","why":"The AI stops at the budget and never answers how long your savings last.","fix":"Add: \"Last line: $6,400 / total = months covered.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 100 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part: \"each line under 8 words, nothing after the last line.\"","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Keeps only essentials","patterns":["essential","must.pay","leave out","skip","optional"]},{"label":"Shows an example line","patterns":["like:?\\s*[\"'“]?\\d","1\\. rent","format each"]},{"label":"Asks for the runway","patterns":["6,?400","months?","savings","divi"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["show.{0,15}(math|addition|work)","total"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"A statement mixes bills with one-off spending. Tell the AI what counts, show it one line of the list, and ask for the savings math at the end.","rubricLabels":["Lists only the essential bills (rent $1,150, power $84, auto loan $265, phone $45, auto insurance $118, student loan $180, internet $60, groceries $400) and leaves out the gym, streaming, concert, coffee and gift","Has a Total line showing the addition that comes to $2,302","Ends with a line showing $6,400 / $2,302 and saying it covers about 2.8 months (just under 3), counting no unemployment benefits"]}