Lunches in the sun, an ice cream here and there, or a beer at an outdoor café? It can be hard to keep your wallet closed as summer approaches, and even harder to know what to actually spend your money on.
But there are tricks to use. At almost all banks you can download a so-called CSV file that shows the transaction history of an account.
It is a format that allows multiple programs to read the same file and sort the data. You upload the CSV file into an AI tool of your choice, which can then help sort through all the transactions, says Magnus Hjelmér.
Can help you make a travel budget
You can choose how long a time period you enter: a month, six months, or perhaps the past year. You can then ask the AI program to go through and group different expenses to get an overview or to look for small, unnecessary costs.
You often find recurring subscription costs that you may not be aware of. Several colleagues of mine have found various small costs - 14 kronor a month for some image editing software.
It may seem like insignificant amounts, but several such subscriptions at the same time can cost a lot over time. Magnus Hjelmér also advises using AI to sort out smaller transactions, for example transactions under 75 kronor.
Then you can, for example, see how much you spent on parking or on hot dogs, a sandwich or ice cream, he says.
If you have been on a trip, you can also ask the AI model to sort out all foreign transactions during a certain period of time. Using this overview, it is then easier to make a budget for the next trip.
“Good to double check”
And once you have set a savings goal, you can follow up over time - by simply repeating the procedure next week or next month.
It's an excellent tool for actually keeping track of your finances.
However, it is important to review exactly what is included in the CSV file before uploading it to an AI tool. In addition, you should be aware that some AI companies use the uploaded data to train their models.
It's always good to double-check that there are no account details or personal data in the file you upload, says Magnus Hjelmér.
