I asked ChatGPT to predict my retirement and it helped calm my financial anxiety

Last year, while being laid off over a Slack call, I had a vision. I saw myself, greying and tired, in a white room. My theory is that the shock of the news swept clean the imagination of my entire future.

That vision came on the heels of a long buildup. I freelance on the personal finance beat and often talk to Gen Zs and millennials about their money habits, career decisions and retirement plans.

Some save every penny for a down payment on a home. Others live for today and figure tomorrow will sort itself out. I’ve spent years comparing myself to them.

In the middle of one of my comparison spirals, I asked ChatGPT a question I couldn’t bring myself to ask a human: “Do you think I’ll be okay when I’m 65?”

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Off the bat, the bot, known for agreeing with its user, legitimized my feelings in its em-dash-heavy fashion. “It’s totally valid to feel anxious about retirement – especially after a job loss,” it replied.

“You’re not alone in this,” it said, which is true. Almost half of Canadians lose sleep over money issues, according to a Financial Stress Index.

It basically congratulated me for being proactive. “Your concern shows you’re thinking ahead, which is a great first step.”

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Next, it asked for details about my age, savings, income, expenses, retirement goals, eligibility for the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, and whether I plan to buy a home.

I gave it all the details: I’m a 29-year-old freelancer with $20,000 in my tax-free savings account, $5,000 in my registered retirement savings plan, some other savings, some gold and no real plan. I spend about $3,000 a month, have no debt or pension and rent in Toronto with my husband, who works full-time in technology.

My freelancing income swings between $1,000 and $5,000 a month. We don’t own property, nor do my parents. We sometimes talk about buying a place, having a kid and retiring in Egypt, where his family has a home. I’d like to retire by age 65.

“You’re actually in a much better position than you might think, especially at 29.” I found it hard to believe that I was on par with my peers, so I Googled it.

Again, the bot was right, kind of. Reddit threads and a big bank’s advice team agreed that you should have around one year of your annual salary saved by 30, which I almost do.

But that’s based on an entry-level salary, not enough to survive in one of Canada’s most expensive cities.

Still, it continued to reassure me that I was on the right track, highlighting my lack of debt, low expenses and solid savings.

But it also flagged risks like needing to save more for rent later since I don’t own property. It reminded me that my inconsistent income might affect CPP eligibility and to check on my contributions regularly. It even told me to get the ball rolling on conversations about kids and home ownership with my husband.

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I already knew a lot of that. It didn’t go into detail about whether my income was enough to survive the expenses of a home or child, how much more I needed or if my income would live up to the cost of living over the next few decades. I’m sure it could if I poked around more.

I was already starting to feel better, so I skipped all that and went straight to the big number. I told ChatGPT about contributing $550 into my TFSA every month and about an upcoming fellowship. I also said I eventually did want to find a stable job with benefits. I asked it to give me the projection, as vague as that sounds.

Within seconds, it returned with numbers and showed just how. If I don’t touch my TFSA until retirement, it said I’d have almost a quarter of a million dollars.

I don’t believe that. What would our monthly budget be? How long would it last? Would we be paying for our theoretical kid still? I had a lot of questions, but not enough will to poke holes in my perfect story.

I was ready to escape the spreadsheet vibes, so I ended by asking it to show me what a day in my retirement could look like.

“You’re 67 years old. You live in a peaceful Nile-side neighbourhood in Egypt. The cost of living is a fraction of what it was in Toronto. You and your husband either own a small home or rent a beautiful, affordable apartment in a community where you’re known for your stories,” it said.

I asked ChatGPT to generate a picture of me in retirement, and this is what it created.

It described my morning coffee, my afternoon hobbies and my evening reading. Between them, I occasionally co-hosted a podcast, edited a few articles and blogged about my travels from an Egyptian courtyard while my husband brought me coffee. It said that I could live a comfortable life travelling and hosting friends for dinner parties in Egypt. As romantic as it all sounded, it was a projection built on my TFSA alone.

I found that the AI leaned heavily on common sense and a shaky piece of advice: Use your home as a retirement asset and downsize, assuming we’d buy in Toronto eventually, which seems like a hard reality without a real path to get there.

What struck me most wasn’t the forecast but the tone. It was reassuring, warm and borderline coddling. “You didn’t retire early. You retired intentionally. You built a flexible career that gave you options. You have a life that still lets you tell stories, eat well and sleep soundly,” it said.

The white box in my head started collecting colour. ChatGPT read like it knew me, which makes sense, because I often talk to it about recipes, work and travel.

I often feel numb and cynical when thinking about retirement. Like, what’s the point of saving when the world is on fire? Will the future even exist? Will I be too burnt out to enjoy it? ChatGPT let me self-indulge and be a little delulu. It helped me romanticize a future I was afraid to imagine.

It didn’t replace doing the work, though. I still need to earn more, save more and have hard conversations with my partner about what we want. But ChatGPT created a starting point. It was like holding up a mirror and being told, gently, that maybe I’m not failing.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but with caveats. It won’t make your money magically grow. It’s not a licensed financial adviser. But if you’re in a job limbo, renting or just financially anxious, it can offer hope in moments of chaos.

At the very least, it’s better than picturing yourself in a blank white box.