In a unique example of using artificial intelligence for personal finance, a woman in the United States has successfully paid off more than half of her credit card debt, worth over $23,000 (approximately ₹19.69 lakh), by turning to ChatGPT for guidance.
Jennifer Allan, a 35-year-old realtor and content creator based in Delaware, told Newsweek that despite earning well, she had long struggled with financial management. “Not because I don’t make enough, but because I was never taught financial literacy,” she said.
Allan’s financial situation worsened after the birth of her daughter, when medical emergencies and the costs of new parenthood caused her to increasingly rely on credit cards. “We weren’t living lavishly. We were just surviving. But the debt piled up while I wasn’t looking,” she explained.
Seeking a change, she turned to ChatGPT for a 30-day personal finance challenge. Each day, she used the AI tool to suggest one actionable step toward reducing her debt, whether by brainstorming side hustles, cancelling unused subscriptions, or identifying unused funds in forgotten accounts.
The AI’s suggestions were simple but effective
One task prompted her to comb through finance apps and bank accounts, where she discovered over $10,000 ( ₹8.5 lakh) in unclaimed money, including in a dormant brokerage account. On another day, she created a pantry-only meal plan, reducing her monthly grocery bill by nearly ₹50,000.
By the end of the challenge, Allan had paid off $12,078.93 (approximately ₹10.3 lakh), nearly half her total debt.
Allan now plans to launch a second 30-day challenge to eliminate the rest. “It wasn’t some big financial hack,” she said. “It was the act of facing it every day, of tracking it, talking about it, looking at it. I stopped being afraid of my numbers.”
Her story comes at a time when personal debt is on the rise in the United States, with household debt reaching $18.2 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Her message to others dealing with similar challenges: “Don’t wait until you feel ready or smart enough to start. You don’t have to know all the answers, you just have to stop pretending it’s not happening.”