Budgeting for the Apocalypse
My Unexpected Quest for a Financial Sidekick
It started like any other chore day. Just me, my trusty spreadsheet, and the usual question: "Where the heck am I financially right now?" The spreadsheet, by the way, isn’t just cells and formulas—it’s a living, breathing dashboard tracking income, debts, survival budget, even little AI Notes I wrote for myself (and for AI helpers, because... neurodivergence).
At first, I asked a simple question: Could anything online actually do what this spreadsheet does? My assistant handed me a well-researched report: a mix of tools like Tiller (spreadsheet automation), PocketSmith (cash flow forecasting), Empower (retirement analysis), and even Glide Apps (mobile-friendly layers). It all made sense on paper, but I wanted simpler, leaner.
So we stripped it down. Tiller emerged as the low-overhead automation king—just let it auto-update my balances and transactions, no fuss. The spreadsheet? It stays. PocketSmith? Maybe down the road. FIRE calculators? Keep them bookmarked for the occasional crisis of ambition.
But then my brain went rogue.
What if I didn’t need APIs? What if an AI could log in, check all my accounts, analyze my finances, and just... tell me what mattered? No dashboards, no spreadsheets. Just a visual story every month. Or a heads-up when something major changes. The digital version of a money-savvy best friend who also reads fine print and tracks the markets.
Turns out, that dream is half sci-fi, half coming-soon. Real AI agents with full logins and independent reasoning exist in academia and some enterprise setups. Not quite ready for consumers. Security, legality, and the fact that it’s just plain hard to trust a bot with your bank credentials are still hurdles.
But the road ahead is clear. For now, we tame the spreadsheet with tools like Tiller and Empower. We automate what we can. But someday, maybe sooner than we think, we’ll all have a digital financial co-pilot who doesn’t just track your net worth—it understands your goals, your anxieties, your thresholds for risk.
Until then, I’ll keep feeding my spreadsheet the numbers it needs and dreaming of the day it feeds me answers in return.
Disclaimer: How This Was Built
This post was created with a mix of old-school hustle and new-school tools. Research, comparison, and narrative development were powered by GPT-4o, with fact-checking and data parsing run through live web access and spreadsheet analysis. Visuals were generated using AI image synthesis (DALL·E) based on scene descriptions and moodboards I had in mind—no stock libraries, no photoshoots, just vibes and prompts.
Financial tools mentioned (Tiller, Monarch, Empower, etc.) were reviewed for features and limitations as of publication but aren't endorsements or affiliate-linked.
Nothing in this post is financial advice. It’s more like a sci-fi diary with spreadsheets... and a robot friend.
Appendix: Let’s Pick This Back Up Later
Initial Progress Summary Capture
Core Context
Main objective:
To find or build a streamlined, AI-augmented system that can fully replace an existing financial spreadsheet used for monthly management, debt planning, cashflow survival, and early retirement (FIRE) forecasting. The desired solution should be highly integrated, autonomous, simple to use, and adaptable to a neurodivergent workflow.
Background or motivation:
The user manages finances using a complex, highly customized spreadsheet that includes AI guidance notes, survival analysis, debt progress tracking, and real-time balance management. The system works, but requires manual upkeep. The goal is to preserve the intelligence and flexibility of the spreadsheet while reducing time, cognitive load, and friction during monthly review cycles.
Initial Setup
Key decisions or conclusions:
Tiller Money offers the best near-term fit: it automates account feeds without disrupting spreadsheet logic.
PocketSmith is useful but unnecessary at this stage; may be added later for long-term forecasting.
Empower provides excellent FIRE simulations and net worth tracking but lacks daily operational depth.
Monarch Money is the strongest single-app alternative, with broad account coverage, goal tracking, and developing AI features.
No single tool perfectly replicates the spreadsheet’s full functionality, particularly its AI Notes system and custom metrics.
A future ideal scenario involves a trusted AI agent capable of logging into accounts, parsing data, forecasting, and notifying the user contextually—bypassing traditional APIs entirely.
Constraints or requirements:
Must accommodate neurodivergent workflows (simple UI, predictable structure, automation that enhances—not obscures—control).
Prefer spreadsheet-style flexibility or extremely clear data visualization.
Avoid complex interfaces or platforms that enforce rigid budgeting philosophies.
No use of em dashes in UI or documentation.
Solutions must preserve the ability to track and prioritize toward financial freedom.
Decisions & Reasoning
Definitions, custom terms, or assumptions:
“Freedom Metric” = Savings - Debts; a core indicator used in the user’s financial planning.
“Payday Chores” = Monthly financial maintenance cycle, requiring fast access to current status, allocation opportunities, and survival projections.
“AI Notes” = In-sheet notes designed to guide both human and AI through structured data processing.
“Survival Budget” = Core monthly expense analysis designed to inform worst-case scenario planning.
Reasoning highlights:
Tools like YNAB and Quicken are overly rigid or complex relative to the user’s goals.
AI-driven insights are preferred over static reports but should not be interruptive.
Spreadsheets are still valuable when paired with automation (like Tiller or Glide).
Full account aggregation is essential—including banks, credit unions, loans, brokerages, and retirement systems.
Technical Framework
Tools, platforms, or systems in use:
Primary: Custom Excel spreadsheet with AI Notes, debt logic, and income analysis.
Considered: Tiller Money (data feeds + Sheets/Excel), PocketSmith (forecasting), Empower (FIRE planner), Glide (mobile UI), Monarch Money (broad tool with developing AI).
Technical environment supports Google Sheets, Excel, and potential future integrations via Plaid, Yodlee, or custom AI agent tools.
Next Steps
Early-stage plans:
Trial Tiller to automate data ingestion and test compatibility with existing spreadsheet logic.
Maintain manual use of FIRE calculators for long-term projections.
Evaluate Monarch Money as a full-system replacement option, focusing on account support and UI efficiency.
Draft instruction set for an ideal AI agent co-pilot to support future agent development or prompt-based tools.
Monitor advancements in consumer-grade autonomous AI agents capable of logging in and managing account data.
Risks & Open Questions
Unresolved issues or risks:
No current platform replicates the spreadsheet’s AI Notes and custom flow natively.
Security and legal challenges with deploying a self-managing AI agent that logs into financial accounts.
Limited consumer availability of true autonomous financial agents—most remain enterprise or research-grade.
Open question: When and how will AI agents reach safe, usable consumer adoption for financial oversight?
Uncertainty around how AI insights will be trusted or verified in autonomous finance agents.