Mel Robbins is a renowned author, podcaster and personal development expert with over 12 million social media followers. You would say her influence carries weight, however a recent paid partnership with Microsoft has her followers and online safety experts concerned.
Mel recently shared a reel of her explaining the benefits of using AI when it comes to managing your personal finances. She even shared a ready-made prompt for her users to share with copilot and advised them to upload their personal financial information “I’ll share documents like bank statements, debt statements, bills, and income info when you ask”.
Is it safe to upload your bank statements to AI?
This set alarm bells ringing at Financielle HQ so we asked our resident BBC Finance expert and Financielle founder Laura Pomfret her thoughts on using AI as a money management tool. She had one clear message, “Your bank statement is not a prompt. There are a number of ways that AI platforms could help manage your money better, but I wouldn’t recommend uploading your personal information like bank statements or bills to any platform online”.
What’s even more frustrating about Mel’s sponsored partnership is that the majority of her content is geared towards helping women, meaning she’s a trusted and influential figurehead. It’s highly likely that many of her female followers followed the AI prompt she created and uploaded personal finance information onto the platform. Not only does this spark safety concerns with privacy experts condemning the “advice” from Mel but the prompt language and tone of voice used felt condescending and child-like. No, we don’t want women to feel overwhelmed when it comes to their finances, but this prompt (signed off with a world leading technology brand) felt ‘off’ in so many ways.
Our top tips for taking back control of your money
At Financielle, we genuinely help women take back control of their money, without compromising their security.
Here’s our proven top tips to get started.
- Know your numbers
Personal finance is 90% personal and 10% finance. To get better at managing your money it can’t be a passive activity. You need to get familiar with the details in order to make the right decisions about your money. A great way to get started is to know your numbers. That means making note of your income vs your outgoings.
- Create a budget that you can actually stick to
A budget isn’t a tool to live frugally, it actually gives you permission to spend, in areas of your life that you care about. It helps to reduce spending impulsively leaving you feeling regretful and penny pinching at the end of the month. Connect your budget to your goal and watch your finances flourish.
- Sinking Funds are a game changer
Planning and budgeting ahead of planned expenses can really help you stay in control of your finances. Christmas, birthdays and holidays are often the same time each year, that means you already have a good idea as to how much these events cost. Starting from today, work out how many weeks or months away they are and divide the cost equally till then. Ring fence these pots of money and draw down on them when the time comes. Our community often describes them as life saving, you can find out more about them here.
- Complete a Money MOT
There’s nothing worse than a financial leaky bucket. That means losing money in areas that can easily be squeezed or optimised. Look for car insurance, home insurance, subscriptions etc., on comparison sites to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Can you cancel any subscriptions that you no longer use or create family and multiple user accounts where available and spread the costs?
The ultimate goal for so many Financielle community members is to feel in control of their money. In order to feel in control you have to take action, that doesn’t mean potentially opening yourself up to financial harm or risk by sharing private information.
Have you ever felt tempted to upload personal finance documents to AI? Do you feel passionately against it? Let us know at thevault@financielle.com
The content produced by Financielle is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. We do not recommend uploading personal financial documents to any AI platform or online tool.
Cover image: Mel Robbin’s Instagram