ChatGPT Plus costs me $20 a month — using it to question my spending has already saved me more than that

Paying $20 every month for ChatGPT Plus has always been easy to justify professionally. The writer uses it for research, document analysis, and household organizational assistance. However, it is another monthly subscription at a time when everyone is looking for ways to reduce their expenses. To justify its cost, the writer pressed ChatGPT to use its finance feature, which analyzes their finances to identify unnecessary expenses. ChatGPT's finance tool can review connected accounts, including spending.

The AI tool raised concerns about an add-on subscription costing $11.99 a month for a streaming service that the writer had finished watching and no longer needed. The writer also remembered signing up for a music app trial but had not used it after the first week, which cost them nearly $60. Canceling these two subscriptions saved $21.98 a month.

ChatGPT also identified an increase in the writer's internet bill by $10, suggesting that they could still get the promotional rate by negotiating with the provider. The AI even provided talking points to help the writer get the discount over the phone. The writer saved $10 a month on their internet bill.

In terms of food spending, ChatGPT helped the writer save money by suggesting to switch to pickup instead of delivery for takeout orders, which would reduce delivery charges and service fees. The writer saved about $35 over the next month. Additionally, the AI identified several small trips to convenience stores, which were more expensive than a regular grocery store. By being more aware of this fact, the writer was able to save about $35 over two months.

After two months of using ChatGPT Plus, the changes were already saving the writer about $67 a month. The recurring savings from canceled subscriptions, reduced internet costs, and lower food spending were more than enough to justify the $20 a month the writer was paying for the subscription. While the writer does not blindly trust ChatGPT with finances or any other decisions, they found that the smaller changes were more important than they initially thought.