A financially independent trader who spends about $200 a month on AI tools like ChatGPT explains why they're worth it

• Options trader Erik Smolinski invests in AI chatbots like ChatGPT, spending around $2,000 annually.
• He values AI for its time-saving capabilities and expects future price increases.
• Smolinski uses AI for trading, data analysis, and investment strategy development.

Erik Smolinski doesn't know exactly how much he pays to use AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

"I don't even know what I spend on it a year, to be honest," the financially independent options trader told Business Insider. "I would guess maybe two grand between all the models."

While free versions of AI models exist, he'll gladly pay for a premium experience. Subscription-based models are common — ChatGPT, for example, has a $ 20-a-month "plus" version and a $ 200-a-month "pro" version — but there are also consumption-based models where you pay per text or audio request and project-based fees.

"It will literally save you so much more than that, just in the function of time, let alone what else it can do," he said, adding that he expects to pay much more for the service in the future. "I would be honestly shocked if they keep it priced this cheap. With the kind of value it can provide, man, they can charge so much if they wanted."

Smolinski pays for a handful of models, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Llama, DeepSeek, Perplexity, and Grok.

"Different models have different personalities," he said. Plus, testing out a variety of products is a way for him to keep his finger on the pulse. "Part of it is also just to understand how it's evolving, how it's changing, and who's leading — because all different companies run these different models."

Right now, for his purposes, he prefers Grok. "It has been incredible, especially from an investor trader perspective," he said. For the everyday investor, "I would probably go with ChatGPT. It's steady, consistent."

Using AI as an investor

Smolinski isn't your average investor. He's an active trader with a detailed trading plan — a nearly 400-page document broken out into various sections — that is constantly evolving based on his trading log, which is where he collects data and records outcomes after testing various scenarios.

He uses AI daily to assist his trading career and answer general questions that arise throughout his day. He even used it to plan a detailed itinerary for his and his wife's most recent trip to Ireland.

"From an investing perspective, I mostly use it to help me with data analysis," he said. "I use it to help me think of different ways to slice and view my data — and I have a stats background from my undergrad and grad degree. AI can literally do everything that it took me six years to learn."

It's helped him refine and analyze his trading log.

"It can help you think about different ways to track what you're looking at — different ways to visualize it — to help you come up with different ideas," he said. If you have a trade log, "you can feed it the Excel version of your brokerage statements, so you can pull out all your personal information and it can just be your trades, and you can just be like, 'Analyze this. What trends do you see?'"

He said he's particularly impressed with the deep research function that some of the models offer: "It'll conduct this really rigorous, deep research and provide citations for everything."

The average passive investor should also be taking advantage of AI.

Start by asking ChatGPT or your AI of choice something like: "I have $5,000. I want to grow my money over the next 25 years. Give me some ideas on how I can build a portfolio," he advised. "It can literally help accelerate all of your decision-making."

From there, you can build on complexity.

Perhaps you want to find ways to capitalize on the current policy shifts in the US under the new president. Give your AI chatbot a specific prompt, such as, "What kind of industries are likely to benefit the most, and what are publicly traded companies within those industries that are most likely to benefit?" he said. "Boom. It gives you all the research. Then, use it for follow-up questions to really help solidify your understanding of things."

Regardless of where you're at in your career or investing journey, Smolinski advises leaning into AI.

"If you're not using AI, you are already falling behind," he said. "It's such an accelerator."

And, for him, it'll always be worth the price: "I don't even know how you could justify not spending the money on it. I really don't."