Where did the money go this month?

⏱ 45 min9 steps

Small costs pile up without anyone deciding they should: a second software plan, or a renewal nobody remembered. Once a month you'll put the month's spending into one tagged and have Claude point at anything new, rising or about to renew. You decide what stays. Bring your card or bank transactions as a download, and receipts for anything paid in cash. Getting that download out of a bank's website stalls most people the first time.

ledger A list of payments, one per line, with the date, who was paid, how much and what for. All words

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Gather last month's download and receipts
A contractor's month might be fuel and parts receipts and a tool rental bill. A store's is supplier invoices and the card reader fees. An office has rent, software and the phone, and a one-person service has the booking app, insurance and supplies.

This part of the section is words, sheets and exports only. You don't connect Claude to your bank, card reader, or accounting or invoicing software in these lessons, even if a exists. Never paste or attach bank account numbers, card numbers, tax ID numbers, passwords or a full statement that shows your account number.

Your card or bank download already lists every payment made by card or from the bank. Receipts and bills only add what it can't show: cash you spent, and what a payment was for.
1. Sign in to your bank or card website yourself, open last month's transactions, and download them as a if it offers one.
2. Pull out the receipts for anything you paid in cash, or from an account that isn't in the download.
connector A link between Claude and another app or service, like Google Calendar or Linear, so Claude can read from it or work in it. All wordsCSV A plain spreadsheet file with commas between the columns. Most sales, booking and job systems can download one. All words
That's not what I see
My bank only offers a PDF statement.
Don't attach it. A statement shows your account number. First, check your bank's help pages for downloading transactions as a CSV. If there's no way, type the month's business payments into the chat instead: date, who you paid, and the amount.
Some of these are personal.
Leave personal spending out. This ledger is for the business only.
Take the account numbers out
The download and the receipts each need a different fix before Claude sees them.
1. For the download: open Downloads in and drag the onto the Numbers icon in the Dock.
2. Hold Command (Ctrl in Excel) and click the letter at the top of each column that holds an account number, a card number or a long reference number.
3. Move the pointer over one of those letters, click the arrow that appears, then chooseRight-click one of those letters, then choose Delete Selected ColumnsDelete.
4. If there are rows above the column names with your account number, your name or a balance summary, delete them too. Hold Command (Ctrl in Excel), click those row numbers, click the arrow that appearsright-click one of them, then choose Delete Selected RowsDelete.
5. If a row names a person, like a wage, a refund to a customer, or a description column with a person's name, click that cell and type a plain word over the name, like Wages or Refund.
6. Choose File > Export To > CSV, click Save, name it Spending for Claude, pick Desktop from the Where menu, and click Export.
7. For cash receipts and anything paid another way: write the date, who you paid and the amount on a list. Don't attach the bills or receipts themselves. They often show a card, loyalty or supplier account number.
On Windows, in Excel:
- To open the download, open Downloads in File Explorer and double-click it. If it doesn't open in Excel, open Excel, choose File > Open, click Browse, and pick it from Downloads.
- To save it, choose File > Save As, click Browse, pick Desktop, and name it Spending for Claude. Choose CSV (Comma delimited) from Save as type, then click Save.
Finder The Mac app for looking through your files and folders. Its icon is a blue smiling face. All wordsfile One document on your computer, like a letter or a photo. Files live inside folders. All words
That's not what I see
I can't tell which column is the account number.
Look for long strings of digits, or a heading like Account, Card or Reference. If you're not sure, delete it. The ledger needs only the date, who you paid, the amount and the bank's description.
Everything opened in one column.
Click anywhere in the table. In the **Format** sidebar, click the **Table** tab, then click **Adjust Import Settings**. Click the **Delimited** tab, check **Comma** next to **Separate Values Using**, then click **Update Table**. Do this before you change anything else in the table. On Windows, in Excel: click the **A** at the top of the first column, choose **Data > Text to Columns**, pick **Delimited**, click **Next**, check **Comma**, click **Next**, then click **Finish**.
I don't have Excel.
Google Sheets is free, in your web at sheets.google.com. Start a blank spreadsheet, choose **File > Import**, upload the file and import it. Right-click a column letter or row number and choose **Delete column** or **Delete row**. To save, choose **File > Download > Comma-separated values**.browser The app you use to visit websites, like Safari or Chrome. All words
Start a new chat and build the ledger
This turns your download and your list into one ledger, sorted by your tags, with the file and row for every line.

drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. Claude sorts the lines. You check the amounts, and you decide what changes.

Pick 6 to 10 tags that make sense to you, like stock, fuel, software, rent, insurance, wages and fees. Your accountant may use different categories. The lesson "Hand your accountant a clean year" sorts by theirs.
1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
2. Click the + button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then Add files or photos, and pick Spending for Claude. You can also drag it into the chat.
3. Check the name ends in for Claude before you click Open.
4. Copy the prompt below.
```
I've attached last month's spending for my business, [what you do]: a card or bank download, plus a typed list of payments that aren't in it. The download is the main list. Mark each line from my typed list NOT IN DOWNLOAD. Make a ledger as a table with these columns: date, who I paid, amount, what for, tag, and where it came from (the file and row, or my typed list). Use only these tags: [your tags]. If a line doesn't fit a tag, tag it ASK ME. Use only what's in the download and my list. If you can't read something, write FILL IN. Don't guess any amount. Leave out money coming in. If two lines look like the same payment, mark both POSSIBLE DOUBLE and keep both. Never ask me for bank, card or account details.
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with what you do and your tags, and add your typed list at the end.
2. Send it.
prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words
You should see:
A table with one row for each payment, each with a tag and where it came from, and FILL IN or ASK ME where Claude couldn't tell.
That's not what I see
Claude says it can't open the file.
Open the file in NumbersExcel, select the whole table, copy it, and paste it into the chat instead.
Have Claude flag anything new, rising or renewing
This is the part of the review most worth your time. This prompt points at three kinds of cost and leaves every decision to you. Claude doesn't cancel anything or contact any company.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Now look for three things. New: anyone I paid this month who isn't in last month's ledger. Rising: anyone I paid more this month than last month, with both amounts and the sum. Renewing: any line whose words in the files say yearly, annual, renewal, subscription or plan. Quote those words. If a line only looks like it might repeat, list it under Might repeat, and don't say when. Don't give a renewal date unless the file shows one. Last month's ledger: [paste last month's ledger, or write NONE]. If I wrote NONE, say you can't tell what's new or rising this month, and list only what's renewing. Use only the files and the ledger. Don't tell me what to cancel. I decide.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with last month's ledger, or NONE if this is your first month.
2. Send it.
You should see:
Short lists of new, rising, renewing and might repeat, each line with where it came from, or a note that Claude can't tell what's new or rising without last month's ledger.
That's not what I see
A cost is marked rising, but it was a one-off.
Write that next to it on your list. Rising only means it went up. You decide whether it matters.
Claude offered to cancel something or write to a company.
Reply: Don't. List it, and I'll decide. Then carry on with the next step.
Check the totals
This prompt adds up each tag and the whole month, with the sums written out, so you can check them against your own.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Give me the total for each tag and the total for the month, and show every sum. Say which rows each total covers.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Check the month's total. Open Spending for Claude, click the letter at the top of the amount column, and read the sum at the bottom of the window., next to Sum. Add your typed list on a calculator.
3. Check two or three tag totals on a calculator.
You should see:
A total for each tag and for the month, with the sums written out and the rows each one covers.
That's not what I see
Claude's month total doesn't match NumbersExcel.
Bank downloads often hold money coming in as well as going out. Reply: Show me which rows you left out as money coming in. Then add up only the money going out in NumbersExcel and compare again.
Decide what stays
1. Go down each flagged list, and write keep, cut or look into it next to each line.
2. Make any change yourself, in the company's own account or by calling them.
3. Write the date next to each one you change, so next month you can see it took effect.
That's not what I see
I can't remember what a payment is for.
Search your email for the name on the payment. If you still can't tell, ask your bank about it yourself, by phone or in their app.
Save the ledger sheet
This prompt gives you the ledger in a form you can paste into a spreadsheet and keep, month after month.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Give me the ledger again as a plain table I can paste into a spreadsheet, with these columns: date, who I paid, amount, what for, tag and flag. Put New, Rising, Renewing, Might repeat or Possible double in the flag column, and leave it empty for the rest.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Open Numbers, choose File > New, then double-click Blank.
3. Click the top-left cell, and press Command-VCtrl+V to paste.
4. Save it as Ledger with the month, like Ledger March.
On Windows, open Excel and click Blank workbook instead of opening Numbers. If Excel is already open, press Ctrl+N. Then paste and save the same way.
You should see:
The ledger as a plain table, with a flag column that's empty except where something was flagged.
That's not what I see
It all pastes into one column.
Reply: Give me the table again in a code block, with a tab between each column. Click the copy button on the block, then paste again. Or reply: Make it as an Excel file I can download. Then open it in NumbersExcel.
I don't see a template chooser.
Hold **Option** and choose **File > New**. On Windows, Excel doesn't need one: press Ctrl+N for a blank workbook.
Save the monthly review prompt
Next month you'll paste this ledger into the review, so Claude can tell what's new or rising.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Put the prompts from this chat on one page I can save, called Monthly spend review, with blanks in square brackets for what I attach, my tags and last month's ledger. At the top, write these rules: Delete account and card numbers before anything goes into the chat. The download is the main list; my typed list adds only what it doesn't show. Claude uses only what I attach and says where each line came from. Claude never cancels anything or contacts anyone. I decide. I check the totals in my spreadsheet or on a calculator.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Copy the page into a note or a document called Monthly spend review.
You should see:
One page with the rules at the top, then the ledger, flag and totals prompts with blanks in square brackets.
That's not what I see
The page looks messy when I paste it.
Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between sections. Then copy it again.
Set a monthly reminder
1. Open the calendar app on your phone or computer.
2. Add a 45-minute reminder that repeats every month, in the first week.
3. Call it Where did the money go? Monthly review.
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.

Your challenge

Do last month's review this week, from a transactions download with the account numbers taken out and a typed list of anything it doesn't show. Pick one cost from the flagged lists and decide, yourself, whether it stays.

Last checked 2026-10-20

Money and paperwork › 2. Your numbers