This Intelligence Ain't Artificial

Hey there Money Saver! Welcome back to another week of How to Save A Buck, where we explore ways of saving money in personal finance, credit cards, and investing!

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not here to brainwash you - it’s here to save you.

You just need to know how to manipulate it.

These days it’s all ChatGPT, Bard, and Co-Pilot. While they may do wonders in your research, ramblings, and silly questions (How many tablespoons are in one pint?), they can also be powerful tools to help you wrap your head around your investments and personal finance.

Before you binge-watch Spielberg’s movie, AI, read on and discover how you can optimize and use AI tools to help you save in the world of investing and finance.

AI is the use of machines to mimic human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and decision-making. AI can help you automate tasks, optimize your portfolio, and find the best deals on products and services.

I know because I’m using a few of them already!

Set it and Forget it

Not entirely setting and forgetting, but automating your savings and spending is one of the easiest ways to save money. You discover your own habits, bad or good.

While you may fear AI will take over your money and investments, you first have to set up the system to do what you want.

Connecting bank and investment accounts will help you understand the nuances of your income, expenses, and your portfolio. Most banks and firms have tools in place that already filter through your transactions and income to determine which products may be suitable for you.

Within the Chase bank app, I can set up a budget and monitor my own spending. I don’t even need to enter my income - it already knows this from my direct deposit.

Setting savings goals, creating budgets, and setting up auto-transfers to other financial firms is simple and easy. This allows me more time to think about other things and not stress about a monthly transfer or forgetting a credit card payment. AI just saved me some tears!

AI catapulted itself into the investment world and I’ve learned the hell out of it. You can too. Investment firms like Wealthfront and Betterment use tools like AI to automate your investments.

These sophisticated software tools don’t worry about the market or feel irrational. And that’s a GOOD thing. They minimize my tax liability, rebalance my portfolio, and constantly observe market prices.

And it’s all based on my initial time horizon and risk.

And if I want to speak to someone in support, I can!

Deals Deals Deals

Want to shop on Black Friday to get the best deal? You may not have to anymore. Services like Rakuten and CamelCamelCamel have entered the space to save you some coin and time.

• Rakuten is an online shopping portal. Click through their links to buy online (or in person) and you are rewarded with cash back! I’ve earned almost $250 in the last couple of years doing this. Just by clicking my mouse one more time…

• CamelCamelCamel is a price tracker. Enter a product ID and it will track the item on Amazon or 3rd party sites to help you determine if the price is optimal. While it scans it also offers coupons and discounts on items you want to buy. It will alert you when a price drop occurs. No more running of the bulls at your local mall on Black Friday!

Though privacy needs to be guarded, AI is already at play in our world and likely going to make it a little bit easier.

If AI can save me money on birthday gifts, act as my assistant, and reduce my taxable income, then I’m all for it. You don’t have to be a tech whiz or a math genius to use it. You just have to be smart enough to let AI do the work for you.

Save On,

Chris

[Disclosure: I’m a Wealthfront client and receive an APY boost if you click and enroll in the above Wealthfront link.]