# See where my money actually goes from my bank statements

Your transactions sorted into clear categories with totals, surprises, and three specific changes worth making.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Brainstorm, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/see-where-my-money-actually-goes-from-my-bank-statements

## Prompt

```text
Help me see where my money went by sorting my transactions.

**Transactions:** [PASTE 1-3 MONTHS of statement lines - date, description, amount. Remove account numbers and personal details first.]
**Monthly take-home income:** [AMOUNT]
**Anything I want to understand:** [e.g. "why I'm always short by the 25th", "how much goes on food"]
**Categories I'd like to use:** [YOUR OWN, or "suggest them"]

Do this:
1. Sort every transaction into categories (housing, utilities, groceries, eating out, transport, shopping, subscriptions, health, debt payments, transfers, other). List any you can't confidently categorize under [CHECK] instead of guessing.
2. Exclude transfers between my own accounts so nothing is double-counted.
3. Show a table: Category | Monthly average | % of income | Number of transactions.
4. Point out: the 3 biggest categories, small frequent charges that add up, fees (overdraft, ATM, late fees), and anything that changed a lot between months.
5. Tell me if spending exceeded income in any month.
6. Suggest 3 specific changes with the estimated monthly saving for each, based only on my data.

Use only my figures; don't invent transactions or round in a way that hides the real totals. Keep the summary short and non-judgmental.
```

## What to fill in

- AMOUNT
- YOUR OWN, or "suggest them"
- CHECK

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