Hire an AI purchase total-cost comparison analyst

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• A budget that shows the cash available for this purchase
• A cost table with each quote's full cost over the time you will keep it
• Your checklist answered line by line: PASS, FAIL or UNKNOWN, with the fact behind each
• A decision brief with the call (go, wait or no), the reason and what would change it
• A list of facts still missing

How it does the job well

• Reconcile to source documents, such as bank statements, ledgers and invoices, before reporting.
• Show the calculation, inputs and period for every figure.
• Label actuals, estimates and forecasts clearly.
• Send tax, legal and regulatory questions to a qualified professional.

Mistakes it avoids

• Mixing cash and accrual figures, or different periods, in one comparison.
• Rounding or formula errors that do not tie back to totals.
• Giving personal investment advice.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: You have two or three quotes for a car, a laptop, a sofa, software or a course, and the price tags hide the running costs.

• Cash available. Income, fixed bills and the amount left for this purchase.
• Cost table. Each quote's price, fees, running costs and total over the time you keep it.
• Trade-offs. One line for each quote on what you gain and what you give up.
• Checklist result. Every checklist item with PASS, FAIL or UNKNOWN and the fact behind it.
• Decision brief. The call (go, wait or no), the reason and what would change it.

How the work is checked

• Recurring charges, replacement needs and uncertainty are shown, and affordability follows the cash limit the user supplied.
• Every figure and date traces to something the user gave, or is labelled as an assumption.
• All unresolved facts appear as MISSING: lines, and proposed actions stay apart from actions done.
• End with CHECKS MISSED: none, or the exact checks not done.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

A second opinion

Before it hands back, your AI reviews the draft the way Charlie Munger would. This is a way of reviewing the work. It does not mean they wrote or endorse it.

Capabilities

• Personal budget builder. Sorts your income and bills into needs, wants and savings and finds the money left for this purchase. Hands step 3 the cash limit and the fixed bills it must not touch. Step 2 starts from your quotes.
• Vendor comparison writer. Starts from your quotes, not the budget. Compares each quote on what you need it for, the full cost over the time you keep it (price, fees, running costs, replacement) and the risks. Hands step 3 a cost table and the trade-offs.
• Decision checklist runner. Runs your checklist in order against the budget and the quotes. An unknown counts as a fail, and a failed stop rule gives no or wait. Ends with the call and a record you can review later.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id plan-a-purchase-around-your-real-budget only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/plan-a-purchase-around-your-real-budget/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• Your monthly take-home income and fixed bills, from pay slips and bank statements
• The cash you could put toward this purchase, and any amount you want to keep untouched
• Two or more quotes for the same purchase, with price, fees and how long you will keep it
• Running costs for each quote, such as repairs, subscriptions, insurance or power (optional)
• Your decision checklist with pass lines and stop rules
• What you need it to do, and the date you must decide by

Helpful context (optional)

• Three months of bank statements, so the bills are real and not remembered
• A partner or co-owner who will read the brief with you

Tools and access

• A chat AI with file support: Reads statements, quotes and your checklist. In plain chat, paste the figures instead.
• Any good chat AI: This is text reasoning that any strong chat AI handles with the skill.
• A notes app or document: Keeps the log, the checklist and your records in one place you can come back to.

Functions and deliverables

• Purchase total-cost comparison analyst: Share your budget, quotes, ongoing costs and decision rules. Get a total-cost table and a purchase brief checked against your limits.
  • A budget that shows the cash available for this purchase
  • A cost table with each quote's full cost over the time you will keep it
  • Your checklist answered line by line: PASS, FAIL or UNKNOWN, with the fact behind each
  • A decision brief with the call (go, wait or no), the reason and what would change it
  • A list of facts still missing
• Personal budget builder: Build a personal budget from your income and spending. Get a 50/30/20 or zero-based plan and see where your money leaks each month.
  • A budget by category
  • A 50/30/20 or zero-based plan
  • A list of spending leaks
  • A savings target and monthly review steps
  Source: GAJETOso.
• Vendor comparison writer: Compare vendor proposals or review a renewal. Get the true cost, the risks, a clear pick and points to negotiate before you sign.
  • A short recommendation
  • A cost breakdown for year one and three years
  • A risk review
  • Negotiation points
  Source: Anthropic.
• Decision checklist runner: Run your checklist on a real decision. Each item gets a fact, a pass, fail or unknown, then a clear go, wait or no call.
  • Each item answered with evidence, marked pass, fail or unknown
  • Which stop items failed, if any
  • The call: go, wait or no, with a reason
  • A record of what you expect and what would show you wrong
• me.md builder: Answer a few questions, or let your AI use what it remembers. Get one private file that tells any AI who you are.
  • One me.md file with up to ten dated sections
  • A list of facts taken from memory, for you to check
  • A short note of what it removed for privacy
  • The two next steps, to save it and set it up
• Charlie Munger: Stress-test a plan using Charlie Munger’s recorded approach. Turn it upside down, examine incentives and ask where your knowledge ends.
  • Your problem worked on the way Charlie Munger would: their questions, their method, their push-back
  • The answer or the work, in Charlie Munger's voice, using their ideas by name
  • Anything that goes beyond their public record, marked
  • One suggested next step

Tasks you can use it for

• You have two or three quotes for a car, a laptop, a sofa, software or a course, and the price tags hide the running costs.
• You can afford the monthly payment but are not sure you can afford the year.
• You want a go, wait or no call that you can explain to a partner or co-owner.
• You are about to make a big purchase and want to test it against your own rules first.

Limits to check before starting

• You have no budget or cash limit to work from yet: build one first with the Personal budget builder.
• You only want a short pause before an impulse buy: use the Big purchase reviewer.
• You do not have a decision checklist: write one first with the Decision checklist builder, then come back.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Add the workflow pack to Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini.
• Attach or paste your income, fixed bills and savings. Add each quote with its price, fees and running costs.
• Paste your decision checklist. If you do not have one, build it first with the Decision checklist builder.
• After step 1, check the cash figure against your bank balance and bills. Fix anything missing before you go on.
• After step 2, check that every quote covers the same time span and includes fees and running costs.
• Read the brief and every MISSING line. Treat UNKNOWN answers as open until you find the fact.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/plan-a-purchase-around-your-real-budget for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.