Write a buying checklist before a big purchase

Big purchases are easy to regret. Get a checklist of the questions to answer before you hand over the money.

Updated 17 Oct 2026

The prompt · ChatGPT

Help me write a checklist before a big purchase.

What I'm buying: [e.g. a sofa, a used car, a new kitchen]
Rough cost: [amount]
How I'll pay: [savings, credit card, finance offer]
Who I'm buying from: [big shop, small firm, private seller]
What I'm unsure about: [anything]

Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers.

Then:
1. Five questions to ask myself.
2. Eight to ten questions to ask the seller.
3. Anything to get in writing before I pay.
4. A simple cooling-off rule for myself.
5. Point me to Citizens Advice consumer pages if rights might apply.

Keep it to one page with tick boxes. Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts, figures or products. UK English.

Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.

A short example

Fill the blanks, then paste. e.g. a sofa, a used car, a new kitchen: a short note you already have. amount: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.

This does not give tax advice. The books stay in the accounting system.

You say what you're buying and roughly what it costs.

The assistant asks how you'll pay and what you're unsure about.

You get questions for yourself and the seller, plus a cooling-off rule.

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What happens

Use ChatGPT to write a buying checklist before a big purchase

Big purchases are easy to regret. Get a checklist of the questions to answer before you hand over the money.

Tools

Paste the prompt, fill the blanks, copy the draft.

ChatGPT — required. Drafts from the text you paste. Nothing is sent.

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