When people imagine asking an AI chatbot for money advice, they might expect vague motivation or a list of trendy side hustles. Instead, one simple prompt produced an answer that closely matched what a well known personal finance author has been preaching for years. That moment came up on The Diary Of A CEO, the podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett. His guest was American author and investment adviser J.L. Collins, who was surprised by how closely the AI’s guidance lined up with his own.
Bartlett framed the discussion with a straightforward scenario. He asked ChatGPT to imagine an average person earning $50,000 a year who wants to reach financial freedom. He also asked for a short response that reflects what most investing experts consider best practice. Before reading the AI’s reply out loud, Bartlett posed the same question to Collins, who wrote The Simple Path to Wealth and is known for no nonsense guidance. You can watch podcast here.
Collins did not dress it up or add complicated steps. His core message was, “Stay out of debt. Spend less than you earn and invest the difference.” The simplicity is part of why his advice has resonated with so many readers over time. It focuses on behavior first, then on the investing vehicle, rather than chasing hot tips. In that conversation, it served as a clean baseline for what came next.
Then Bartlett read ChatGPT’s answer, and the overlap was hard to miss. The AI’s version was, “Focus on saving and consistently invest in low cost index funds, like those that track the S&P 500. Live below your means and let compound interest, or interest on interest, do its work over time.” The wording was different, but the fundamentals were essentially the same idea presented through a slightly more modern lens. Instead of leading with debt, it led with saving, low cost funds, and time.
The conversation moved to the next question that naturally follows, which is how someone can grow their income. Collins replied with another compact principle, “Build your skills.” It is advice that sounds almost too basic until you think about how often income growth comes from becoming more valuable at work or in a business. Bartlett noted that the chatbot offered a similar direction, just with more examples built in.
ChatGPT’s expanded take was, “Focus on in demand skills. Look for opportunities to advance in your career, consider a side job, or invest in assets that can produce passive income, like real estate or dividend paying stocks.” Collins agreed with the general idea, but he also pointed out a modern complication. He observed that what counts as an in demand skill can change quickly as artificial intelligence keeps advancing. That led to a playful moment where he joked that the chatbot must have done its homework and found his ideas anyway.
Collins also reacted with the kind of humor people tend to appreciate in a topic that can get dry. The line he leaned on was, “The chat dug up my book.” Beneath the joke was a real takeaway, which is that widely accepted financial basics are not mysterious, and they do not need constant reinvention. If an AI system and a long time finance writer converge on the same roadmap, it is a hint that the boring plan is often the effective plan.
Beyond the novelty, the advice highlighted in the podcast points to a few concepts that are worth understanding at a deeper level. Index funds are designed to track a market index rather than trying to beat it by picking individual winners. The S&P 500 is one of the most recognized benchmarks in the United States because it represents a broad slice of large public companies. Low cost matters because fees quietly eat returns year after year, and tiny percentage differences can add up to huge gaps over a few decades.
Compound interest is another key idea that sounds simple but becomes powerful when time is on your side. It is not only about earning returns, but earning returns on your returns, which can create a snowball effect. That is why both answers emphasized consistency and patience rather than constant trading. For someone earning $50,000 a year, the gap between spending every raise and saving even a small extra percentage can be the difference between feeling stuck and building momentum.
The term financial freedom can mean different things, but in many online communities it overlaps with the idea of financial independence. People often talk about reaching a point where investments and other income sources cover basic living costs, so work becomes optional rather than required. Collins is frequently associated with the broader FIRE movement, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, though not everyone pursues the early retirement part. The common thread is using disciplined saving, sensible investing, and lifestyle choices to buy future flexibility.
Bartlett’s format also matters here because it reflects how many people learn about money now. Podcasts like The Diary Of A CEO mix personal stories, expert interviews, and practical advice in a way that feels accessible. In this case, the hook was the idea of testing ChatGPT with a wealth question, but the value came from hearing how a seasoned finance voice responded. Whether the answer comes from a human expert or an AI, the fundamentals still come back to spending less than you earn, investing wisely, and building skills that keep your income growing.
What do you think it says about modern money advice that a chatbot and J.L. Collins landed on such similar guidance, and do you find that reassuring or unsettling, share your thoughts in the comments.
