She’s on the Money’s top tips for using AI to kick your 2024 money goals

Money expert Victoria Devine has shared how Aussies can use free AI tools to help budget, invest and plan ahead for a financially successful 2024.

The first month of the new year is almost gone, but if you’ve been putting off kickstarting your money goals, or spent the month lapping up some much-needed annual leave, there is an easy hack to quickly getting back on track.

The She’s on the Money podcast host has streamlined her life with Microsoft’s answer to ChatGPT, known as Copilot, and says it is her new go-to recommendation when facing a range of money dilemmas shared by her 250,000 listeners.

The free tool was launched by the tech giant in February 2022 and uses artificial intelligence to complete a range of requests, including writing resumes, researching or even telling a joke.

When it comes to financial planning, Ms Devine says there are countless ways Aussies can simplify their money goals.

1. Build a grocery list with all the best specials

Another way to save money and time is to ask Copilot to create a shopping list with all the best prices packed in so you don’t have to dig around for the sales yourself.

“You can get it to tell you what’s on special at Coles versus Woolworths and do your shopping list that way,” Ms Devine said.

2. Making adjustments to your budget

If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a look at your budget, a refresh can help cut back on unnecessary spending like unused subscriptions or gym memberships and adjust to the rising cost of living.

“If you have identified in your budget that your grocery list is probably costing a little bit too much, you can summarise that down and have them suggest a few more budget-friendly options,” Ms Devine said.

3. Travel on the cheap

Planning on jetsetting this year but worried how your money will stack up in light of the cost of living? Copilot can help plan an itinerary filled with accommodation, activities and flights that fit your budget.

“It can tell you where the most cost-effective places are and help you plan a whole itinerary,” Ms Devine said.

“It can also help you pick the best time of year. It’s like my personal travel agent.”

4. The best time to make big purchases

Need to buy a new laptop or maybe a couch? It can be a daunting task deciding which one to buy from the countless options available in the market.

You can ask Copilot to compare items and reveal what is the best option based on the exact specifications you need.

Once you’ve made up your mind, the harder task is figuring out where to buy it and even what time of year is best to get the lowest price.

“You can ask it (Copilot) what’s the best time of year to buy that product based on sales trends,” Ms Devine said.

5. Get started with investing

Ms Devine loves that Copilot can be used to help guide investors, from beginner to immediate.

“One of the limitations of being a generally licensed financial adviser is that I can’t tell you what to invest in,” she said.

“You can ask (Copilot) to tell you about the top five performing ETFs in 2023 and it gave me this beautiful list of here’s what they do, why they do it, their performance, their historical performance, and a little bit of everything about it.”“I think if you’re a first-time investor, you’re so overwhelmed, it can decipher all that information into an easy-to-digest format.”

6. Looking for a higher paying job

One of the top reasons people turn to artificial intelligence is to help them write the best resume or cover letter to get the job they really want.

Well, if one of your money goals this year is simply to make more money, there are a bunch of ways Copilot can help.

“I don’t have time to sit down with everyone and help them write a resume, but I do have the time to let them know what prompts I would use on Microsoft Copilot,” Ms Devine said.

If you’re looking to make a complete career overhaul, Copilot can also help sift through some of the overwhelm that comes with taking the first step.

“I was testing it the other day and I was like, ‘I work in marketing, and I’m a bit bored and I want to look at new career opportunities, where would my skills be relevant’?” Ms Devine said.

“It’s great for those deeper things that people are struggling with but can’t afford to employ a professional.”

The main drawcard for Ms Devine is the way Copilot provides links to where it draws the data from.

“I banned (one service) in the office because it would make up data and we would spend more time cross-checking the tool,” she said.

Copilot can be used alongside the Microsoft suite including calendar, emails, chats, documents, and meetings and is available at copilot.microsoft.com or in the app store.