Understand a household bill
Never use real personal data. If you need to, run it through the data cleaner.
Explain this [electricity / water / gas / phone] bill without personal data: [items and amounts]. For each item, tell me what it is and whether it is fixed or depends on usage. At the end, list what I should ask the company. Don’t calculate savings you can’t justify from the bill itself.
What result to expect
A practical proposal you can adjust. Check quantities, deadlines and any legal point against the official source.
Example
An electricity bill with “power charge”, “energy charge”, “electricity tax” and “meter rental”. Result: a table separating fixed items (power, rental) from usage-based ones (energy) and 3 questions for the company.
Useful variations
- Ask to “compare these two bills” to see which item went up.
- Ask for the explanation “in 5 sentences for an older person”.
Common mistakes
- Pasting your supply point code, customer number or address: they aren’t needed.
- Trusting a savings estimate: confirm rates on the company’s official website.
Getting the most out of it
- Paste the prompt as is and only replace what is in [brackets].
- If the answer does not fit, do not start over: ask for “shorter”, “more formal” or “as a table”.
- Always review the result before using it: AI can get facts, dates or names wrong.
Before you paste it: quick checklist
- Don’t include real addresses, phone numbers or contract numbers.
- Give practical context: people, time available and budget.
- Ask for a list or table so you can use it straight away.
- Check any practical detail (opening hours, prices, deadlines) at the official source.
How to adapt it to your assistant
The template works the same in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or Claude because it only uses plain language. If your assistant supports fixed instructions (custom instructions, Gems or projects), you can store your preferred tone and format there and paste only the variable part. On a free plan, split long requests into two or three shorter messages.
More on this category
Templates to organise home life: menus, shopping, complaints, trips or shared chores. They are starting ideas; always adapt the suggestions to your budget, your schedule and what you actually have at home.