Gemini replaced my expense tracker — and I didn’t expect it to work this well

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Gemini can do a number of things that will blow your mind. However, I didn’t expect it to be this good at something so simple I use every day. Expense tracking is that one task I repent doing every single day, but I still do it anyway because it’s critical to my monthly budgeting. Plus, the historical data helps me compare my spending habits through graphs and charts — you know, proper nerd stuff.

But collecting all that data piece by piece, properly categorizing it, labelling it, and attaching a payment method to each entry for proper tracking requires meticulous work. It becomes a chore, especially when I have to log over a dozen transactions every week.

I’ve been looking for a tool that can automate this task for me, which is difficult — particularly on the iPhone without SMS access. And just like that, I wanted to try how good Gemini could be at personal finance management — turns out it’s pretty solid.

Would you trust Gemini with your financial data? 17 votes Yes 12 % Maybe, with limits 47 % No 41 % I'm not sure 0 %

The good, the better, and the best

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority

I have a lengthy log of my expenses, tracked since early 2021 — that’s a lot of data to benchmark against. I’ve stuck with the app Expenses Manager to consistently log every transaction I make, with details like the amount, merchant, category, and payment method I used. That’s a lot of data, but every bit of it is important for creating a reliable trail I can track if the need arises, which happens at least a couple of times a month. Those years of data are what kept me locked into the app.

Manually feeding the data is the hardest part, and I’ve been looking to automate it to my liking — that is, with a bit of control and customization. And Gemini fit the bill perfectly. It’s a natural-language chat interface, so giving it information is like chatting with my accountant rather than painstakingly filling out set forms over and over again.

The switch to Gemini has simplified the hardest part for me — I can simply paste the transaction SMS or give it a screenshot, and it parses the information accurately under the heads I’ve defined.

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