CoWork: Create a Budget Spreadsheet

CoWork

Claude CoWork is a collaborative workspace inside Claude where you can work on files together in real time. Unlike a standard chat, CoWork lets Claude build, edit, and refine actual documents and spreadsheets alongside you — you can see the output take shape and keep refining it in the same session.

In this project you will use CoWork to upload your bank statements, have Claude analyse your spending, build a monthly budget spreadsheet, and then create a personal savings plan with dedicated saving buckets for your most important financial goals.

Getting to CoWork

Open Claude and go to Projects

On claude.ai, click Projects in the left sidebar. This is where all your CoWork projects and document projects live.

Create a new Project called "Home Budget"

Click New Project — the button on the right of the screen — and name it Home Budget. This becomes your dedicated folder for all budget-related chats and files — everything stays organised in one place.

Set up the project's right-hand panel

Inside your Home Budget project, you'll see three blocks stacked on the right of the screen:

Memory — where Claude builds up facts about your finances as you chat. You don't fill this in directly; Claude maintains it automatically across every conversation in the project.

Instructions — your standing brief. Type something like "All amounts are in South African Rand (ZAR / R). Use the format R 999,999.00. Dates in DD/MM/YYYY format." This applies to every chat automatically.

Files — where your documents live. Click Upload files and add your bank statements. PDF and CSV exports from your banking app both work well. Upload 2–3 months for a more accurate picture of your spending patterns.

Open a new chat inside the project

Click New Chat from within the Home Budget project. Claude now has access to your bank statements and standing instructions. You are ready to start.

Your data stays in your project. All uploaded statements and the chats you have inside this project remain stored in your Home Budget folder — accessible any time you want to revisit, update, or expand your budget.

Prompt 1 — Analyse Statements and Build the Budget Spreadsheet

Use this first prompt to have Claude read your bank statements, categorise every transaction, and produce a ready-to-download monthly budget spreadsheet in Excel format.

Prompt

You are a certified financial planner and Excel spreadsheet expert helping a South African individual take control of their personal finances.

I have uploaded my bank statements to this project (covering the last 2–3 months). Please read through all transactions and do the following:

1. Categorise every transaction into logical spending categories — for example: Housing (bond/rent, rates, levies), Transport (fuel, insurance, instalments), Groceries, Utilities (electricity, water, internet), Entertainment, Medical, Clothing, Subscriptions, Education, Savings, and Other.

2. Calculate the average monthly spend for each category based on the statements provided.

3. Build a monthly budget spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx) format with the following structure:
   - Sheet 1: Monthly Budget — two columns (Category and Average Monthly Spend), a Total row at the bottom, and a separate Income section at the top
   - Sheet 2: Transaction Detail — a full list of every transaction, the date, description, amount, and the category you assigned it to
   - Sheet 3: Spending Summary — a simple table showing each category, the monthly average, and what percentage of total spend it represents

4. Highlight any category where spending looks unusually high or inconsistent month to month.

Format all amounts in ZAR (R) with comma thousands separator and two decimal places. Use DD/MM/YYYY for all dates.

Prompt 2 — Identify Savings Opportunities

Once your budget is built, use this prompt to ask Claude to look critically at your spending and identify realistic areas where you could cut back and redirect money toward savings.

Prompt

You are a personal finance advisor helping a South African individual find realistic ways to save more money each month.

Based on the bank statement analysis and budget you have already built in this session, please do the following:

1. Identify the top 5 areas where my spending could realistically be reduced. For each one, suggest a specific action — not just "spend less on food" but "consider meal planning for the week to reduce impulse grocery purchases."

2. Identify any subscriptions or recurring debit orders that look like they could be cancelled or renegotiated — for example streaming services, gym memberships, or insurance policies that may have better alternatives.

3. Calculate how much I could potentially save per month if I implemented your top recommendations. Show this as both a monthly and annual figure.

4. Suggest a realistic monthly savings amount I could commit to based on my current income and expenses — one that is achievable without drastically changing my lifestyle.

Be honest and direct — I want practical advice, not vague suggestions. All amounts in ZAR (R).

Prompt 3 — Create Your Savings Buckets Plan

This prompt turns your savings amount into a structured plan — dividing your money across dedicated savings buckets for the goals that matter most to you, such as retirement, holidays, a car deposit, or an emergency fund.

Prompt

You are a personal finance planner helping a South African individual set up a structured savings plan using dedicated savings buckets.

Based on the monthly savings amount identified in this session, help me set up a savings bucket system. My savings goals include some or all of the following — please include the ones that are most relevant and suggest any I may have missed:

- Emergency fund (3–6 months of expenses)
- Retirement / retirement annuity top-up
- Holiday fund
- New car deposit
- Home deposit or home improvements
- Children's education
- Christmas and annual gifts
- Medical / dental costs not covered by medical aid

Please do the following:

1. Recommend how to split my monthly savings amount across these buckets, with a percentage and rand amount for each. Prioritise the emergency fund first if it does not yet exist.

2. For each bucket, tell me: how long it will take to reach a realistic target at this contribution rate, and what type of account is best suited for it in South Africa — for example a 32-day notice account, tax-free savings account (TFSA), unit trust, or retirement annuity (RA).

3. Create a savings bucket summary table I can save, showing: Bucket name | Monthly contribution (R) | Target amount (R) | Estimated months to reach target | Recommended account type.

4. Give me 3 practical tips for sticking to a savings plan — specific to someone living in South Africa where cost of living pressures are real.

All amounts in ZAR (R). Use realistic South African interest rate assumptions where relevant.

How to Use These Prompts

Complete the CoWork setup above — create the Home Budget project and upload your bank statements.
Open a new chat inside the project.
Start with Prompt 1 — let Claude analyse your statements and build the spreadsheet. Download the Excel file when it is ready.
In the same chat, paste Prompt 2 — Claude already has your full spending context and will build on it.
Finally, paste Prompt 3 — Claude will create your personalised savings bucket plan based on everything discussed in the session.
Save the Excel file and the savings plan — come back to this project any time to update your budget or add new statements.

Tip: Run this exercise every 3 months. Upload your latest statements to the project, open a new chat, and ask Claude: "Compare my spending this quarter to the budget we built previously and tell me where I am on track and where I have overspent." It is the closest thing to having a personal financial advisor on call.