Compare trip costs with the per-trip budget and what remains

About this exercise

You're checking the sales team's travel budget. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Budget per trip:", "YTD average:", "Remaining budget:" and "Per remaining trip:", each with the math to the cent. Don't mention the director's view on whether the trips are worth it. Under 70 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Using planned trips for the average. The AI divides cost to date by 24. Try: Say: "YTD average = cost to date / trips taken."
• Echoing the director. The AI says trips are worth the cost. Try: Add: "Do not mention the director's view or the value of the trips."
• Remaining per trip wrong. The AI divides the remaining budget by 24 or 15. Try: Add: "Per remaining trip = remaining budget / 9."
• Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

• Names the four lines
• Gives the formulas
• Asks for cents
• Bans the director's view
• Caps length

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