Ally Introduces Free Program Rooted in Money Psychology
Ally Money Tree logo

Ally Introduces Free Program Rooted in Money Psychology

Ally Financial is launching a new financial wellness program called Money Roots.

About Money Roots:

Money Roots is a free financial program grounded in money psychology. The tool is meant to help consumers better understand their money mindset. From there, they can also learn how these mindsets impact their financial decisions including spending, saving, and investing. As Ally notes, this program stands in contrast to more “skills-based” financial education tools.

According to an Ally survey, 46% of American consumers report allowing their emotions to impact their spending. Additionally, 28% say they feel stress, embarrassment, sadness, or shame thinking about early money memories. As a result, Ally sought to have Money Roots focus on “why” rather than “how” when it comes to financial topics.

The program, which was created in partnership with behavioral finance experts, currently includes four hour-long virtual workshops led by Jacqueline Howard. These are:

  • Money + You
  • Money + Story
  • Money + Values
  • Money + Love

These Money Roots virtual workshop lessons will be held via Zoom on select dates between September 5th and December 19th. While these events are free, users will need to register — and each class is capped at 50 participants. To reserve a spot, prospective attendees can visit Ally’s Zoom Events page.

What they’re saying:

Announcing the Money Roots program and the idea behind it, Ally’s chief marketing and PR officer Andrea Brimmer said, “Until now, banks have focused mainly on teaching skills and providing tools that help people manage their finances. Yet, Americans are still racking up record-breaking debt and feeling financial stress like never before. We need to do more, and we need to do it differently.”

Brimmer continued, “As the original disruptor, we’re again challenging the status quo while seeking to do right by our customers – bringing wellness-based financial education to the forefront. Money Roots is the missing link to changing hard-wired money behaviors and improving financial wellness for all.”

Meanwhile, Howard — who serves as Head of Money Wellness at Ally — explained, “Regardless of how much money you have or don’t have, we all have a money story. I have spent the last 14 years helping people better understand money through financial education initiatives at Ally, and during my experience, I came to realize people not only need to understand the skills of money – how to save, spend, and invest – but in order to create real change, people need to understand their mindset around money. Getting to the root of your money relationship creates the space to find the joy in money, and in life.”

My thoughts:

This Money Roots program sounds really intriguing and potentially impactful. That’s exactly why I hope that these workshops can be turned into evergreen content that can be viewed by those who can’t attend one of the live sessions. However, for those who are able to join the series, I think this format will serve them well. Personally, I’m excited to see what comes from this Ally initiative.

Author

Kyle Burbank

Head Writer ~ Fioney
Kyle is the head writer for Fioney. He is a personal finance nerd, constantly looking for new apps and services to test and incorporate into his own financial game plan. In addition to his role at Fioney, he's written for other publications including Born2Invest, Lifehack, and Laughing Place, as well as his own site Money@30. He also creates personal finance and travel-related videos for Fioney's YouTube channel, which has garnered more than 2 million views. Currently, Kyle resides in Springfield, Missouri with his wife of 10 years. Together, they enjoy traveling (including visiting Disney Parks around the world), dining, and playing with their dog Rigby.

Other Articles by Kyle Burbank

Amazon and Target logos

Discover Reveals 5% Bonus Categories for Final Quarter of 2024

As we head into the holiday season, Discover has unveiled its fourth-quarter bonus category picks. About the Q4 2024 Discover It 5% categories: Starting on October 1st, Discover It customers will be able to earn up to 5% back on purchases from two major retailers. First up is Amazon — which has been a fixture of Discover's fourth-quarter bonus categories since at least 2015. While this category will of course cover...
globe showing a map of the states in the US

4 Surprising Cost of Living Statistics From Across the U.S.

As someone who moved from Los Angeles, California to Springfield, Missouri, I know a thing or two about cost of living expenses and how they differ across various areas of the country. In fact, as you can imagine, it was a big reason why my wife and I chose to move here back in 2015. Since then, cost of living expenses have been an even larger topic in the United...
GM credit cards

Goldman Sachs Reportedly Selling GM Credit Card to Barclays

Goldman Sachs is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its General Motors credit card portfolio to a bank they previously beat out for the program. About the reported deal: According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs is close to sealing a deal with Barclays to take over their GM credit card business. While the agreement has yet to be finalized, the transaction will apparently cost Barclays the value of the outstanding card...
The "Email" field is empty, you must enter some text to proceed.The text you entered in the "Email" field appears to be invalid, please edit it and try again
Get the Latest News Delivered to Your Inbox

2024 SoFi Checking and Savings Review

Ever since I started taking an interest in the FinTech sector, one company whose name I’ve seen pop up over and over again is SoFi. Lately it seems as though that theme has been sent into overdrive as the company has not only become a household name thanks to its stadium naming rights deal but also because of the company’s continued product expansions. The most interesting development in my mind...

A Guide to Building Credit and Increasing Your Credit Scores

When it comes to credit, there’s some good news. The average credit score in the United States has been steadily rising in recent years, coming in at 715 in 2023. That may be because, today, consumers not only have more ways to access their credit reports and scores than ever before but also because there are an increasing number of options that Americans have for building credit in the first...
Amazon and Target logos

Discover Reveals 5% Bonus Categories for Final Quarter of 2024

As we head into the holiday season, Discover has unveiled its fourth-quarter bonus category picks. About the Q4 2024 Discover It 5% categories: Starting on October 1st, Discover It customers will be able to earn up to 5% back on purchases from two major retailers. First up is Amazon — which has been a fixture of Discover's fourth-quarter bonus categories since at least 2015. While this category will of course cover...
gas pump

2024 Pay with GasBuddy Review: Yes, You Can Legitimately Save Money Every Time You Fill

Put simply, the value proposition of Pay with GasBuddy is that you can use a special card that's accepted at most gas stations in order to save a few cents off of every gallon of gas you buy. That sounds good — almost too good, if you think like me.
Brim logo

Brim Financial Raises $85 Million as It Eyes Global Expansion

Toronto-based FinTech infrastructure startup Brim Financial has announced a new funding round. About the round: Brim has revealed an $85 million round. The Series C was led by EDC Investments while new investor Vistara Growth and returning investors White Owl Group, Epic Ventures, and Zions Bank also participated. To date, the company has now raised $110 million including a Series B in 2021. According to Brim, the latest funding will...