Turn parts notes into a three-line budget
Why now: The $50 homemade AI companion offers a concrete reason to calculate a project’s costs before starting a build.
Prompted by today's lead: Two Claude Code extension versions compromised, Cursor says
What you'll need
- A non-sensitive project note containing parts prices, quantities, recurring charges, and any costs you have not yet found.
Steps
- Paste your project note into the prompt.
- Check the quantities and arithmetic against your note.
- Find the missing prices before treating the total as a complete budget.
The prompt
Calculate the costs in this hobby-project note using only the supplied numbers. Do not estimate missing prices or count reused items as new purchases. Return plain text with no Markdown formatting, under 100 words, in exactly three lines. Line one: Upfront, with an arithmetic equation and the known one-time total. Line two: Monthly, with an arithmetic equation and the known recurring total, or 'not specified' if none is given. Line three: Missing costs, listing every explicitly unpriced item or charge, or 'none stated'. Keep known totals separate from missing costs. Project note: [paste your project note]
What you should get
Exactly three lines: an upfront equation totaling $40, a monthly equation totaling $4, and missing costs naming the speaker and tax; no invented prices or charges for reused items.
Tested example: Tested on sample input
Input
I want to build a tiny desk companion with a face on a screen. The controller costs $18, the screen costs $12, and two buttons cost $2 each. I can reuse a cable and a cardboard enclosure. Delivery is $6. The optional voice service is $4 per month; include it in this budget. I have not checked the speaker price or tax.
Output
Upfront: $18 + $12 + (2 × $2) + $6 = $40. Monthly: $4 = $4 per month. Missing costs: speaker, tax.
How we tested it: How we checked this: an AI model ran this prompt on the sample input on November 1, 2026, and a separate model call checked the result against what the Move promises.