Budgeting With an AI Agent: Less Guesswork, More Visibility

Budgeting used to feel like a chore I’d always put off

I’d open the spreadsheet maybe once a month, stare at the numbers, and feel worse than before. The categories were right, but the story was missing. Where did all that money go? I knew I had subscriptions, but I couldn’t remember which ones. My partner would ask if we could afford a weekend away, and I’d say, “I think so?” — not great for confidence.

That’s the thing about budgeting: it’s not about the maths. It’s about visibility. And most of us don’t have it.

That’s where my AI agent, Hermes, changed things. Not by taking over the decisions, but by cutting through the fog.

The usual suspects: subscriptions, invoices, and the $10 gap

Let’s start with the stuff we all deal with. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a bunch of small expenses that add up to something big. You sign up for a streaming service, then another, then a cloud storage plan you forgot about. Maybe a gym membership you haven’t used in six months. Each one is tiny, but together they can easily drain a couple of hundred bucks a month.

Then there are the invoices you miss. I’m not talking about the big ones — rent or mortgage. I mean the quarterly insurance renewal, the annual software subscription, the “you have one week to pay” notice that slipped into spam. Before you know it, you’ve got a late fee and a headache.

And the spreadsheets? I love a good spreadsheet, but I hate updating one. You start strong in January, and by April the colour coding is half done. By June, it’s a graveyard nobody visits.

None of this is your fault. It’s just the way our financial lives are set up — scattered across bank accounts, credit cards, emails, and apps.

Enter Hermes: an assistant that helps me see clearly

I want to be clear here: Hermes isn’t a financial adviser. It doesn’t tell me what to spend or where to cut. That’s my job. But it does one thing really well — it organises the chaos so I can make better decisions.

How? By pulling in data from my bank feeds, my email receipts, and my calendar. Every morning, Hermes gives me a quick summary of the last 24 hours. Nothing fancy. Just a list: “You spent $12 at the coffee shop, $45 on petrol, and a recurring $14.99 for that streaming service you haven’t used in three months.”

That last one is the killer. I had no idea I was still paying for it. Hermes flagged it, I cancelled it, and suddenly I had an extra $180 a year. Not life-changing, but it’s the kind of visibility that builds momentum.

Asking useful questions

One of the smartest things Hermes does is ask questions. Not the vague “are you on track?” kind, but specific ones. For example, last week it noticed my grocery spending jumped by 30% compared to the previous fortnight. It didn’t say “you need to cut back.” It asked “would you like me to show you a breakdown of the items?” I said yes, and realised I’d bought more pre-made meals than usual. I didn’t change anything that week, but I started paying attention.

Flagging unusual spending

Another thing Hermes does well is spot patterns. A few months ago, I had a sudden spike in my “dining out” category. Hermes flagged it with a note: “Your restaurant spending is up 40% this month. It looks like you had three work lunches. Do you want to review them?” That was helpful — I could see the difference between a business expense and a personal one. Without that flag, I would have lumped it all together and felt vaguely guilty.

Building a weekly financial snapshot

Once a week, Hermes prepares a summary that’s actually useful. It’s not a multi-page report. It’s a short, scannable snapshot that covers:

• Total spending for the week, compared to the previous week
• Recurring charges that went through (so I know nothing’s expired or been charged twice)
• Any unusual transactions (like that big Amazon order I forgot about)
• Upcoming bills in the next seven days

That last one is a lifesaver. I used to get surprised by bills all the time. Now I see them coming, and I can shift money around if I need to. No more “oh, the insurance payment went through and now I’m overdrawn” panic.

The best part? I didn’t have to build this myself. I told Hermes what I wanted to see — categories, frequency, level of detail — and it set it up. I spend maybe five minutes a week looking at it, and I feel way more in control.

Less guesswork, more confidence

Financially, my life hasn’t changed dramatically. I still spend money on things I enjoy. I still have the occasional splurge. But the fog has lifted. I know where my money is going, and I’m not guessing anymore.

That confidence is the real win. When my partner asks about a weekend trip, I can say “yeah, we’ve got room in the budget” without hesitation. When I see a credit card charge, I don’t wince — I know it’s something I planned for, or I flag it quickly.

Budgeting doesn’t have to be a grind. It can be a conversation with someone who’s helping you see the picture more clearly. For me, that’s Hermes. Maybe it’s something different for you.

The point is, the tool doesn’t make the decision. It just makes the information better. And when you have better information, you make better choices.

Need help setting up your own AI assistant? Feel free to contact me at [email protected].