049: Paul Montoy-Wilson – Using Awareness to Strengthen Your Money Mindset

Paul Montoy-Wilson is an entrepreneur with a vision of helping people with their relationship to money and their personal money mindsets. Paul developed and launched Allo, a financial wellness app that focuses on mindful money practices.

Today, Paul joins the show to discuss his personal and financial values, the relationship between spending and happiness and the importance of becoming aware of how we spend and save our money. Paul and Jonathan talk about the psychology of money as well as how the Allo app is helping others improve their financial well-being.

📺 Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/ouojnn7Sa_Y

Key Takeaways

00:54 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Paul Montoy-Wilson, who joins the show to talk about his personal and financial values, what he learned about entrepreneurship at a young age, and what inspired him to launch Allo

11:31 – How Paul shifted his own money mindset

13:05 – The relationship between spending and happiness

15:52 – Becoming aware of our values

21:03 – How Allo works

26:14 – Money in relationships

29:41 – Paul speculates on the future of Allo and exciting new tools he would like to pursue

31:49 – One piece of investment advice to heed and one thing to completely ignore

35:48 – The last thing Paul changed his mind about and Paul’s idea of a ‘perfect’ day

39:04 – Jonathan thanks Paul for joining the show today and lets listeners know where to connect with him

Tweetable Quotes

“What apps can do, which is great, is they make things much more accessible to a lot more people, and they help build habits. And so, I think that’s what we’re excited about with Allo. We’re trying to help people build a positive habit around their financial well being.” (10:31) (Paul)

“When you have money to spend – when you’re able to use it in a way in accordance with your values – you’re happier. And it’s one way in our capitalist culture that you’re able to articulate what your values are. And so, one of those ways is being generous. When you give money to others, you feel great. And that’s true in my own life. But there’s a hesitancy, I think in general, when you feel like you don’t have enough to give.” (14:08) (Paul)

“The point of the app is to effectively look at these different areas of your life asking yourself, ‘What’s important to me in each of these areas?’ And then, sort of a secondary question is, ‘How is my spending reflected in these values and can I make a change in how I’m spending my money to be more congruent with these different values?’” (17:12) (Paul)

“The core of the app is really around awareness. The point is not to optimize your net worth. The point is not to tag everything. The point is not to flag everything, it’s just to be aware.” (22:15) (Paul)

“The majority stressor, for the majority of us, is our finances.” (24:17) (Paul)

“One of the value categories that we have in Allo is called ‘future.’ It’s becoming who you want to be.” (28:51) (Paul)

“Every week or every month open up your bank app of choice, take a look at how you’re spending and saving your money, and reflect. Appreciate the ways you’re able to use your money and notice anything you want to make changes for.” (32:46) (Paul)