Save Up to $80 on Shark's SmoothStyle Blow Dry Brush and Elevate Your Beauty Routine
A lot of us are short on money and time these days. And it doesn't help that prices are creeping up all over the place, including salons. Styling your own hair at home can be a big win and help you hold onto more of your money, but you'll need quality tools to help you tackle the job.
Shark's SmoothStyle Blow Dry Brush can take your hair from wet to dry quickly, so you don't have to spend too much time getting your hair in tip-top shape. And this QVC deal knocks its $130 price down to just $70, an impressive $60 savings. And first time shoppers with QVC can save even more with code WELCOME20, which drops $20 off your first order of $40 or more, slashing the cost of this styler to just $50.
This tool should work on all hair types, from straight or wavy to curly and coily. Once you're out of the shower, just towel-dry your hair to a semi-dry state, then use the wet hair mode to dry and volumize your hair. Once it's dry, then switch to the dry hair mode to straighten and smooth away frizz.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
This tool won't leave your hair heat-damaged, either. It works with lower temperatures than traditional flat irons. You can also use it on next-day dry hair for a refresh, tackling any creases or frizz from the day before. And your purchase also includes a storage bag for you to place the tool when you're done.
Read more: Best Hair Growth Products for 2025
Why this deal matters
This is an excellent chance to shave $60 to $80 off a high quality hair styling tool from a top brand like Shark. With humid summer weather on the way and tariffs raising prices on a wide variety of goods, this is a great find if you've been considering investing in new hairstyling tools to save you time and effort at an affordable price point.
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CNET
6 hours ago
- CNET
Here's Why You Probably Can't Afford to Buy a Home on a $100K Salary
Tharon Green/CNET In today's expensive housing market, it's not a mystery why someone making $100,000 a year would see homeownership as out of reach. With more than two decades as a real estate professional, I tell my clients to be honest about what fits their financial reality, not just the bank's formulas. Unless you're buying a home with cash (unlikely), it's valid to ask if you can afford to take out a mortgage on an above-average salary. Let's start by making a key distinction. The amount you borrow for your home loan and the amount you qualify for are different. Although a lender may approve you for a large loan, that doesn't mean it's a smart financial move for your life or budget. The key is understanding how much you can borrow, your monthly budget and home prices in your local market, not just nationally. You'll also need to understand debt-to-income ratios and what goes into your mortgage payment beyond your interest rate alone. Gross salary vs. disposable income If you earn $100,000 per year, that breaks down to $8,333 per month in gross income. Lenders will use your monthly gross income when calculating how much house you qualify for. This figure doesn't reflect what you actually take home. Your net pay is closer to $6,561 per month, depending on your specific tax deductions and benefits. When budgeting for homeownership, look at your disposable income, i.e., the amount of money you have available for spending, saving or investing after all mandatory deductions and taxes have been subtracted. Mortgage lenders don't factor in what you spend on groceries, child care or your car lease, either. Their math is entirely based on your gross pay, which can make your budget look stronger than it actually feels. What to know about a monthly mortgage payment A mortgage payment is more than just the loan. Lenders often refer to PITI, which stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Many homes also include HOA fees. Here's what makes up your full monthly payment: ☑️ Principal: The amount you're paying off each month toward your mortgage loan balance. ☑️ Interest: The cost of borrowing, based on your mortgage interest rate. Average rates are currently in the 6.5% to 7% range and they're expected to be there for a while. ☑️ Property Taxes: Depending on your location, a good estimate is between 1% and 1.5% of your home's value annually, divided into monthly payments. ☑️ Homeowners insurance: Usually $100 to $150 per month, although this will vary a lot by region. ☑️ Mortgage insurance: If you put down less than 20%, this can add up to a few hundred dollars per month based on your down payment, credit score and the number of borrowers on the loan. ☑️ HOA Fees: Common in condos or planned communities, ranging from $100 to $500 or more. Real example: An initial calculation for a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment might actually be closer to $2,700 to $3,000 when everything else is factored in. Always run the full numbers, not just the loan payment. Affording a $400,000 home with a $100,000 salary Over the years as a realtor, I've worked with buyers of varying financial backgrounds who find ways to buy a home, even in an unaffordable market. My main advice is to remember that no home-buying budget is ever the same. Each household has different needs, expenses and financial padding. Always look at the full picture, including other expenses, before you take out a mortgage. If you're stretching with a low down payment or have debt already, consider a less expensive home or a more affordable location. In these instances below, your housing expenses will be about 40% or 50% of your take-home pay. It may look safe on paper but in real life, you will have little left over for anything else. At the same time, this might be manageable for some buyers who have minimal debt, a second stream of income or additional savings. Understand your risk tolerance The safest approach when purchasing a home is to borrow less than you qualify for. Many realtors recommend the 28/36 rule, a solid target for long-term financial stability. That means keeping your housing costs under 28% of your gross income and your total monthly debt under 36% of your gross income. With $8,333 per month in gross income, that would cap your total monthly payment at $2,333. More cautious buyers often follow the rule recommended by the personal finance author Dave Ramsey. Ramsey recommends keeping your mortgage at less than 25% of your take-home pay (not your gross income). Looking at your net salary of $6,561 per month, that would cap your total monthly payment at $1,640 -- a tough number to hit unless mortgage rates are low, you have a large down payment or are buying in a low-cost market. Conventional mortgages vs. FHA loans Most first-time buyers use either a conventional loan or a Federal Housing Administration loan. The right option depends on your credit score, savings and long-term goals. Conventional loans are best if you have good credit (typically 680 or higher) and can put down at least 5 to 20% upfront toward the home's purchase price. With a 20% down payment, you skip mortgage insurance and may qualify for a lower interest rate. FHA loans let you qualify for a mortgage and buy a home with as little as 3.5% down and with a credit score as low as 580. These government-backed loans often have more favorable average interest rates than conventional loans but you'll have more fees to pay. FHA mortgages allow higher debt-to-income ratios, which makes them more flexible if you're pushing your budget. The trade-off with an FHA loan is being stuck with mortgage insurance premiums unless you refinance later. Both loan types are common if you're starting your homeownership journey. It just depends on your personal situation and how much you can realistically afford to pay off in monthly mortgage debt. With a smaller down payment, you'll be taking out a larger loan with more debt to pay off over the long term. Decide how much down payment you can afford Your down payment percentage has a direct impact on your loan, monthly payment and whether you'll need mortgage insurance. Let's take a more detailed look at what this would mean for a $400,000 home, which is less than the average home sales price in the US. Down payment on a $400,000 home: FHA loan: 3.5% = $14,000 down payment Conventional loan minimum: 5% = $20,000 down payment Conventional without mortgage insurance: 20% = $80,000 down payment A 20% down payment means lower monthly payments, no mortgage insurance and less debt and interest paid over time. It also increases your odds of getting your offer accepted in a competitive market. But if putting 20% down drains your savings, that's not the best move either. You still need reserves for closing costs, maintenance and emergencies. Determine your debt-to-income ratio Debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, is how lenders measure your ability to repay a loan. It's a simple formula: monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Two numbers matter. The front-end ratio is the percentage of your income that goes toward housing expenses only (mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, etc.). The back-end ratio is the percentage that includes all monthly debts (from housing, credit cards, student loans, car payments, etc.). Most conventional loans allow up to 49.99% on the back-end ratio, although many lenders aim lower. FHA loans are more flexible, with lenders often allowing DTIs above 50% if your credit and income support it. Keep in mind that these are maximum limits. Just because you can borrow that much doesn't mean you should. A lower DTI gives you more breathing room in your monthly budget and can make life feel a lot less stressful after you move in. Buying a home with a $65K salary Purchasing a home with a lower salary is definitely riskier and harder for most people. Your options will be limited by loan size and monthly debt caps. In most cases, you'll need a large down payment, a second income or family support to make it work. In more affordable regions, you can still buy modest homes or condos with help from FHA loans or grant programs. But in places like California or New York, homeownership options will be very restricted without assistance. Preparing for the housing market today While home prices may cool in some areas, a major drop is unlikely. Waiting for a price crash could mean missing out on the right home. Housing inventory is still below pre-pandemic levels, with current homeowners holding tight to their cheaper mortgage rates. Demand for homes remains strong, maintaining the supply/demand imbalance and keeping prices elevated. Before you start home shopping, speak with a mortgage loan adviser. They'll help you understand exactly how much home you can afford based on your income, credit and debt. They'll also break down your full payment so there are no surprises. Taking out a mortgage is one of the biggest commitments you'll make. Getting the numbers right, especially in a high-priced market and an unpredictable economy, helps you prepare for the costs of homeownership and avoid regret.
CNET
11 hours ago
- CNET
CNET's Tariff Price Tracker: Watching 11 Key Products Daily, Here's What I've Seen
A trade court has ruled Trump's tariff barrage illegal but the possibility that prices could climb remains real. James Martin/CNET I've been keeping tabs on several popular products on a daily basis for CNET's tariff impact tracker, watching for price hikes amid President Donald Trump's import tax agenda. Most prices I've been looking at have remained stable so far, aside from a notable increase for the Xbox Series X, and the occasional discounts during big sale periods, which is currently the case for some popular earbuds and a budget-friendly soundbar. With all that said, the broader impacts of these import taxes are still on the horizon, unless a trade court ruling against them gets to stay in place. The Trump administration has, unsurprisingly, decried this ruling -- which said Trump had no authority to set tariffs as he has been -- and moved swiftly to request that the Supreme Court strike it down. We'll see how that ultimately plays out but, for now, the possibility that the president's tariff policies will lead to price hikes remains likely. That's why I'm continuing to monitor several key products you might want or need to buy soon, to keep track of the potential tariff impacts. CNET Tariff Tracker Index Above, you can check out a chart with the average price of the 11 products included in this piece over the course of 2025. This will help give you a sense of the overall price changes and fluctuations going on. Further down, you'll be able to check out charts for each individual product being tracked. We'll be updating this article regularly as prices change. It's all in the name of helping you make sense of things so be sure to check back every so often. For more, check out CNET's guide to whether you should wait to make big purchases or buy them now and get expert tips about how to prepare for a recession. Watch this: Should You Buy Now or Wait? Our Experts Weigh In on Tariffs 09:42 Methodology We're checking prices daily and will update the article and the relevant charts right away to reflect any changes. The following charts show a single bullet point for each month, with the most recent one labeled "Now" and showing the current price. For the past months, we've gone with what was the most common price for each item in the given month. In most cases, the price stats used in these graphs were pulled from Amazon using the historical price-tracker tool Keepa. For the iPhones, the prices come from Apple's official materials and are based on the 128-gigabyte base model of the latest offering for each year: the iPhone 14, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. For the Xbox Series X, the prices were sourced from Best Buy using the tool PriceTracker. If any of these products happen to be on sale at a given time, we'll be sure to let you know and explain how those price drops differ from longer-term pricing trends that tariffs can cause. The 11 products we're tracking Mostly what we're tracking in this article are electronic devices and digital items that CNET covers in depth, like iPhones and affordable 4K TVs -- along with a typical bag of coffee, a more humble product that isn't produced in the US to any significant degree. The products featured were chosen for a few reasons: Some of them are popular and/or affordable representatives for major consumer tech categories, like smartphones, TVs and game consoles. Others are meant to represent things that consumers might buy more frequently, like printer ink or coffee beans. Some products were chosen over others because they are likely more susceptible to tariffs. Some of these products have been reviewed by CNET or have been featured in some of our best lists. Below, we'll get into more about each individual product, and stick around till the end for a rundown of some other products worth noting. iPhone 16 The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the US, so this was a clear priority for price tracking. The iPhone has also emerged as a major focal point for conversations about tariffs, given its popularity and its susceptibility to import taxes because of its overseas production, largely in China. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the idea that the iPhone can and should be manufactured in the US, an idea that experts have dismissed as a fantasy. Estimates have also suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500. Something to note about this graph: The price listed is the one you'll see if you buy your phone through a major carrier. If you, say, buy direct from Apple or Best Buy without a carrier involved, you'll be charged an extra $30, so in some places, you might see the list price of the standard iPhone 16 listed as $830. Apple's been taking a few steps to protect its prices in the face of these tariffs, flying in bulk shipments of product before they took effect and planning to move production for the US market from China to India. This latter move drew the anger of Trump again, threatening the company with a 25% tariff if they didn't move production to the US, an idea CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shot down in the past. This came after Trump gave a tariff exemption to electronic devices including smartphones, so the future of that move seems in doubt now. Apple's flagship device is still the top-selling smartphone globally, as of Q1 of this year, though new research from the firm Counterpoint suggests that tariff uncertainty will cause the brand's growth to stall a bit throughout the rest of 2025. Duracell AA batteries A lot of the tech products in your home might boast a rechargeable energy source but individual batteries are still an everyday essential and I can tell you from experience that as soon as you forget about them, you'll be needing to restock. The Duracell AAs we're tracking are some of the bestselling batteries on Amazon. Samsung DU7200 TV Alongside smartphones, televisions are some of the most popular tech products out there, even if they're an infrequent purchase. This particular product is a popular entry-level 4K TV and was CNET's pick for best overall budget TV for 2025. Unlike a lot of tech products that have key supply lines in China, Samsung is a South Korean company so it might have some measure of tariff resistance. Xbox Series X Video game software and hardware are a market segment expected to be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Microsoft's Xbox is the first console brand to see price hikes -- the company cited "market conditions" along with the rising cost of development. Most notably, this included an increase in the price of the flagship Xbox Series X, up from $500 to $600. Numerous Xbox accessories also were affected and the company also said that "certain" games will eventually see a price hike from $70 to $80. Initially, we were tracking the price of the much more popular Nintendo Switch as a representative of the gaming market. Nintendo has not yet hiked the price of its handheld-console hybrid and stressed that the $450 price tag of the upcoming Switch 2 has not yet been inflated because of tariffs. Sony, meanwhile, has so far only increased prices on its PlayStation hardware in markets outside the US. AirPods Pro 2 The latest iteration of Apple's wildly popular true-wireless earbuds are here to represent the headphone market. Much to the chagrin of the audiophiles out there, a quick look at sales charts on Amazon shows you just how much the brand dominates all headphone sales. Earlier in the year, they tended to hover around $199 on the site, a notable discount from its $249 list price, but the price is currently the much more enticing $169, so move fast if you want an affordable pair. (Or maybe just wait for the rumored AirPods Pro 3.) HP 962 CMY printer ink This HP printer ink includes cyan, magenta and yellow all in one product and recently saw its price jump from around $72 -- where it stayed for most of 2025 -- to $80, which is around its highest price over the last five years. We will be keeping tabs to see if this is a long-term change or a brief uptick. This product replaced Overture PLA Filament for 3D printers in this piece, but we're still tracking that item. Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank Anker's accessories are perennially popular in the tech space and the company has already announced that some of its products will get more expensive as a direct result of tariffs. This specific product has also been featured in some of CNET's lists of the best portable chargers. While the price has remained steady throughout the year, it is currently on sale for $13, or 50% off, for a limited time. Bose TV speaker Soundbars have become important purchases, given the often iffy quality of the speakers built into TVs. While not the biggest or the best offering in the space, the Bose TV Speaker is one of the more affordable soundbar options out there, especially hailing from a brand as popular as Bose. This product has been one of the steadiest on this list in terms of price throughout the year, but it's currently on sale for $199, potentially as part of Amazon's Memorial Day sale. So, if you're looking for an affordable, tariff-free TV speaker, now might be the time. Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush They might be a lot more expensive than their traditional counterparts but electric toothbrushes remain a popular choice for consumers because of how well they get the job done. I know my dentist won't let up on how much I need one. This particular Oral-B offering was CNET's overall choice for the best electric toothbrush for 2025. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Lenovo is notable among the big laptop manufacturers for being a Chinese company making its products especially susceptible to Trump's tariffs. Starbucks Ground Coffee (28-ounce bag) Coffee is included in this tracker because of its ubiquity -- I'm certainly drinking too much of it these days -- and because it's uniquely susceptible to Trump's tariff agenda. Famously, coffee beans can only be grown within a certain distance from Earth's equator, a tropical span largely outside the US and known as the "Coffee Belt." Hawaii is the only part of the US that can produce coffee beans, with data from USAFacts showing that 11.5 million pounds were harvested there in the 2022-23 season -- little more than a drop in the mug, as the US consumed 282 times that amount of coffee during that period. Making matters worse, Hawaiian coffee production has declined in the past few years. All that to say: Americans get almost all of their coffee from overseas, making it one of the most likely products to see price hikes from tariffs. Other Products As mentioned before, we occasionally swap out products with different ones that undergo notable price shifts. Here are some things no longer featured above, but that we're still keeping an eye on: Nintendo Switch: The baseline handheld-console hybrid has held steady around $299 most places -- including Amazon impending release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X. impending release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X. Overture PLA 3D printer filament: This is a popular choice on Amazon Here are some products we also wanted to single out that haven't been featured with a graph yet: Razer Blade 18 (2025), 5070 Ti edition: The latest revision of Razer's largest gaming laptop saw a $300 price bump recently, with the base model featured an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card now priced at $3,500 ahead of launch, compared to the $3,200 price announced in February. While Razer has stayed mum about the reasoning, it did previously suspend direct sales to the US as Trump's tariff plans were ramping up in April.
CNET
12 hours ago
- CNET
ChatGPT Built a Budget for Me ASAP, but It Has Several Limitations
ChatGPT can help you set budget categories, spending limits and savings goals. But it still leaves much to be desired. Getty Images/Zooey Liao/CNET Artificial intelligence can help you manage your money in lots of different ways. It can show you how to cut grocery costs, save for a vacation and even negotiate your bills. But just because it can doesn't necessarily mean it succeeds. And with something as important as your finances, it's essential to know where it falls short. Last year, I asked ChatGPT to help me create a budget, a task that can be tedious and overwhelming. It was useful in some ways, but not so great in others. I tried the experiment again this year, and while I noticed minor improvements -- mainly that icons and improved formatting made the answers more visually appealing -- the overall result was still mixed. Here's how it went. Read more: How to Create and Master Your 2025 Budget Building a budget with ChatGPT These are the steps I took to test ChatGPT's budget-making abilities. 1. State your monthly income, expenses and savings goals To get started, you'll need to give ChatGPT your monthly financial numbers: take-home income, expenses and savings goals. I already have a budget I made using Rocket Money, so to see how ChatGPT builds a budget from scratch, I had it create one for a hypothetical person. My prompt: "My monthly income after taxes is $3,500. Each month, I spend $1,000 on rent, $15 on renters insurance, $100 on utilities, $300 on my car payment, $150 on car insurance, $100 on gas, $200 on my student loans, $40 on my phone bill, $300 on groceries, $100 on personal items and $100 on dining out. I'd also like to put some money toward savings." The result: Screenshot by Kelly Ernst/CNET ChatGPT ran the numbers and told me I'd have $1,095 left each month. I'd intentionally left my savings goals vague to see what ChatGPT would recommend. It suggested ways to allocate this amount toward savings, including building an emergency fund, contributing to retirement savings, paying down debt and making extra student loan payments. It also showed me how I could split my $1,095 between these savings buckets. 2. Clarify and adjust I'd also intentionally left some spending categories out of my initial prompt -- something someone creating a budget for the first time might easily do -- to see if ChatGPT would catch them. It didn't. So I asked it to help me. My prompt: "Have I missed any other common budget categories?" The result: Screenshot by Kelly Ernst/CNET ChatGPT generated a list of potential additions and asked if I wanted it to create a revised budget with placeholders for these categories. The revised budget, including estimates for savings goals and budget categories ChatGPT recommended adding, left me with $5 remaining. That's not a ton of wiggle room, but I could always ask the AI to tweak things to give me a bigger cushion. Pro tip To avoid forgetting expenses, review your bank and credit card statements from the past 12 months to spot your regular monthly, seasonal and annual expenses. 3. Import the data into a spreadsheet There are several ways to track your spending and monitor how well you're sticking to your budget, including budgeting apps and the old paper-and-pencil method. One easy -- and free -- method is to create a spreadsheet, which ChatGPT can also help you with. My prompt: "Create a Google spreadsheet for my budget." The result: ChatGPT created some code I could copy and paste into Google Sheets. Screenshot by Kelly Ernst/CNET It also provided instructions on how to format it. Screenshot by Kelly Ernst/CNET I followed these instructions, but all the data showed up in column A of the spreadsheet, and I couldn't figure out what to do next. I had to ask ChatGPT how to fix this. Screenshot by Kelly Ernst/CNET It was more work than I was hoping to do, and I still had to make some formatting changes to the spreadsheet so it was easier to read. But in the end, I did have a working budget I could adjust as needed. Pros and cons of creating a budget with ChatGPT Using ChatGPT to create a budget was fairly simple. It required some fine-tuning on my part, but overall, the AI's recommendations made sense and were easy to understand. That said, it's not for everyone, and it has its pitfalls. Here's what you should keep in mind. Pros It's free. ChatGPT doesn't cost anything, and neither does Google Sheets if you choose to move your budget numbers there. ChatGPT doesn't cost anything, and neither does Google Sheets if you choose to move your budget numbers there. You can keep it simple. ChatGPT's initial budget suggestions are basic, which can make budgeting more approachable if you're a beginner. You're free to dive deeper into any answer, but you can also use it to create a basic budget to get started. ChatGPT's initial budget suggestions are basic, which can make budgeting more approachable if you're a beginner. You're free to dive deeper into any answer, but you can also use it to create a basic budget to get started. It can help you customize your budget. ChatGPT can suggest everything from how to save on utilities to how much to put toward retirement at various ages. But you need to ask it to do so. It probably won't offer these tips unprompted. Cons Its answers are only as good as your prompts. If you don't word your prompts correctly or you provide incomplete or inaccurate information, ChatGPT's answers won't be as helpful as they could be. For instance, when I omitted some common budget categories, it identified them only when I asked it to. It didn't automatically alert me that I may have left something out. Many budgeting apps offer preset categories you can use as guidance. If you don't word your prompts correctly or you provide incomplete or inaccurate information, ChatGPT's answers won't be as helpful as they could be. For instance, when I omitted some common budget categories, it identified them only when I asked it to. It didn't automatically alert me that I may have left something out. Many budgeting apps offer preset categories you can use as guidance. It's more work on your part. Budgeting apps can import your bank account transactions, sort them into common categories and suggest monthly spending limits based on your past spending. With ChatGPT, you must enter your numbers yourself. And if you move your budget to a spreadsheet, you'll need to manually track each transaction and sort it into the right category, which can be tedious. Budgeting apps can import your bank account transactions, sort them into common categories and suggest monthly spending limits based on your past spending. With ChatGPT, you must enter your numbers yourself. And if you move your budget to a spreadsheet, you'll need to manually track each transaction and sort it into the right category, which can be tedious. It's not suitable for ongoing budget maintenance. ChatGPT can generate your budget, but it won't track your transactions. And if you want to adjust your budget categories, you'll need to do it manually on your spreadsheet or ask the bot to generate a new budget. (Thankfully, ChatGPT saves your previous chats if you're logged in, so you can ask it to tweak the information in your initial chat rather than having to enter everything all over again.) If you want ongoing help managing and maintaining your budget, you're better off with a budgeting app. ChatGPT can generate your budget, but it won't track your transactions. And if you want to adjust your budget categories, you'll need to do it manually on your spreadsheet or ask the bot to generate a new budget. (Thankfully, ChatGPT saves your previous chats if you're logged in, so you can ask it to tweak the information in your initial chat rather than having to enter everything all over again.) If you want ongoing help managing and maintaining your budget, you're better off with a budgeting app. Its answers may vary. I created a couple of budgets in ChatGPT to see how consistent its suggestions were, and its answers differed from chat to chat. If the initial answer ChatGPT gives you is confusing, seems incomplete or doesn't feel right to you, ask it to restate it. I created a couple of budgets in ChatGPT to see how consistent its suggestions were, and its answers differed from chat to chat. If the initial answer ChatGPT gives you is confusing, seems incomplete or doesn't feel right to you, ask it to restate it. Your information is not confidential. Anything you tell ChatGPT could be used to train the AI model, which means it could become publicly available. In addition, ChatGPT is susceptible to hackers and information leaks and doesn't have the security measures you'll find with reputable budgeting apps. You can disable chat history to prevent your info from being used to train the bot, but OpenAI still saves it for up to 30 days. Pro tip Don't give ChatGPT any sensitive financial details, such as your Social Security number or bank account number. If you wouldn't want to see certain personal information published online, don't enter it into your prompts. Tips for using ChatGPT to build a budget AI is powerful, but you need to know how to use it for the best results. Here are some best practices for creating a budget with ChatGPT. Double-check everything. Make sure your prompts have the correct information and that ChatGPT's answers make sense. Do the numbers add up? Do the recommendations seem reasonable? A quick Google search of your question can help you compare ChatGPT's advice against reputable sources. Make sure your prompts have the correct information and that ChatGPT's answers make sense. Do the numbers add up? Do the recommendations seem reasonable? A quick Google search of your question can help you compare ChatGPT's advice against reputable sources. Be specific. The more information the chatbot has, the more fitting its answers will be for your financial situation. Including details like your age, where you live and the hobbies you prioritize spending on can help it customize its recommendations. The more information the chatbot has, the more fitting its answers will be for your financial situation. Including details like your age, where you live and the hobbies you prioritize spending on can help it customize its recommendations. Clarify. Don't hesitate to ask ChatGPT to clarify or reword its answers. It doesn't always state information in a way that's easy to understand. Don't hesitate to ask ChatGPT to clarify or reword its answers. It doesn't always state information in a way that's easy to understand. Drill down. ChatGPT can not only help you create a budget; it can also help you stick to it. For instance, you can ask it how to reduce your phone bill, boost your income or free up more money for savings. ChatGPT can not only help you create a budget; it can also help you stick to it. For instance, you can ask it how to reduce your phone bill, boost your income or free up more money for savings. Adjust. Revisit your budget regularly to make sure it's still serving you well. If anything changes -- for example, you get a side hustle that brings in more income -- update your budget to reflect that. Verdict: Should you use ChatGPT to build a budget? While ChatGPT can help you create a budget, it has plenty of limitations, and there are easier and more effective ways to do it. If you're new to budgeting, simply Googling "basic budget" will give you lots of template ideas and tips. If you'd like more guidance, budgeting apps are designed to do a lot of the work for you and help you stick to your budget on an ongoing basis. That said, ChatGPT can help you with some of the basics you need as you tweak your budget, such as suggesting ways to trim common expenses and how much you should save each month for a particular savings goal. However, you should double-check any advice it gives you on more complex financial topics, such as how much you should put toward retirement for your personal situation. Rocket Money See at Rocket Money Perfect your 2024 budget with CNET's Editors' Choice budgeting app pick
