More in Money, Bills & Taxes. Also fits: Kids, Parenting & School.

Estimate monthly college savings for several kids with ChatGPT

PartialEvidence: Article or interviewPosted Jul 22, 2026Last checked Oct 31, 2026

ChatGPT's first college plan for Kimberly Palmer was $8,000 a month. More detail cut it to about $3,000, but that still didn't fit.

Source checked Oct 31, 2026
Results shared
Limitations noted

How to use this

Tap Copy prompt.
Open ChatGPT.
Paste it into the message box.
Send it, then read the answer before acting on it.

New to this? What's a prompt?

A prompt is the message you send to the AI tool. Copy the one on this page, put your own details where it asks, and read the answer before you act on it.

Prompt

Recreated prompt

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote one from what it describes. The result shown is the source's, not ours.

What the prompt labels mean

The person didn't share their exact words, so we wrote this from what they described. We haven't tested it, and they didn't use this exact version.

I have several children of different ages. Based on their ages and the predicted cost of college, how much should I save each month for each child's college fund? Put it in a chart.

Try this in:

ChatGPT Used in source Gemini Grok Claude

Sends the Recreated prompt shown above. ChatGPT and Grok open with it filled in, and ChatGPT may send it straight away. Gemini and Claude open empty, so we copy the prompt for you to paste. Every button also copies it.

Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.

These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or xAI, and your results may not match the source.

Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Build a realistic monthly college savings plan for my kids that fits alongside my other money goals.

Questions to ask me first:
- How old is each child, and what kind of school are you planning for?
- How much do you already have saved for each child?
- What can you realistically put toward college each month, and are you on track for retirement?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Children's ages: [AGES]
- Current college savings per child: [AMOUNTS]
- Target school type and yearly cost (e.g., nearby public university): [COST]
- Expected rate of return I want to assume: [RATE]
- Monthly amount I could set aside: [BUDGET]
- Retirement savings status: [RETIREMENT NOTES]

Rules:
- Show the full-cost number and a version that fits my monthly budget, with the share of costs each covers.
- Don't take money from my retirement contributions to fund college.
- State every assumption (cost growth, return, years) so I can change it.
- Don't ask for account numbers, tax returns or other identifying documents.

Checkpoint: Show the assumptions table first and wait for me to confirm or change it.

If you get stuck: If my budget covers only part of the cost, show what 25%, 50% and 100% coverage would take.

Verify before you finish: Recheck that the monthly amounts add up to my budget and that the timeline matches each child's age.

Output: A chart per child with monthly amount, years to save and estimated coverage.

Done when: I have a monthly number per child that I can actually afford.

AI tool

ChatGPT

Outcome

NerdWallet's Kimberly Palmer asked ChatGPT how much to save each month for college based on the children's ages and the predicted cost of college. It returned a helpful chart that front-loaded saving for the oldest child, but the total was a whopping $8,000 a month, far beyond Palmer's budget. After Palmer added an expected rate of return, the time horizon for each child and the cost of nearby public universities, it suggested around $3,000 a month for the oldest. That was still too much, but it gave Palmer a reality check about college costs. ChatGPT didn't account for Palmer's own retirement savings until prompted, and it couldn't weigh family details Palmer didn't think to share or didn't want to share with a chatbot.

Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.

Known limitations

PartialThe source says it only partly worked, or had a significant problem a person had to deal with.

What went wrong: The plan was still more than Palmer could afford, and ChatGPT ignored retirement savings until Palmer raised it.

Source

Posted: Jul 22, 2026 by Kimberly Palmer (NerdWallet)
Last checked: Oct 31, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/AI-financial-plan

Context: Experts quoted in the article suggest using AI for the math only, getting human opinions on decisions and not uploading tax returns or other sensitive documents to new AI tools.