About this Event
Tell someone you're struggling with money and the first question comes back fast. What's your budget? Your bank asks it. Your advisor asks it. Your parents ask it.
Jill Poulton thinks it's the wrong question. The budget is only where the problem shows up. Underneath it are shame, pride, old beliefs, and a mental fog that makes clear decisions close to impossible. If you cut spending without dealing with any of that, the same habits come right back.
Jill has looked at money from three angles. She's a military veteran, a former banker and a coach. Today she works with Edmonton's veteran community, where she sees money and mental health collide almost every day. On November 11th, she sits down with host Rheanna Height to talk about what's really behind the money decisions that keep people stuck, and what it takes to change them.
Come as you are. Your numbers don't need to be in order.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- A sit down conversation between Rheanna and Jill about the side of money most people avoid
- Why the budget is where money trouble shows up, not where it starts
- A simple way to tell when fear is driving a money decision
- One question to replace intimidating financial goals
- A first look at your own money story, and how to start rewriting it
- An hour before the talk to meet people who get it
- Food and drinks available at The Bell in Scona
WHO THIS IS FOR
Anyone whose money habits feel bigger than a spreadsheet. People who leave the mail unopened. People who spend to feel better, then feel worse. Anyone who has sat across from a banker or advisor and walked out feeling judged. Veterans and serving members. Civilians. Anyone who has been putting off a money conversation and wants a reason to finally start it.
WHAT THIS ISN'T
A budgeting workshop. A lecture about cutting back on coffee. A room where anyone judges your numbers. Nobody will ask you to share them.
ABOUT YOUR SPEAKER
Jill Poulton is a military veteran, former banker and coach. For the last five years of her banking career, she worked with business owners on their finances. She left the industry partly because of how it treats people who won't make it any money. Since moving to Edmonton three years ago, she has worked closely with the city's veteran community, helping people sort out money problems that started somewhere else. Her approach comes from coaching. Ask better questions, listen past the surface, and never judge someone by what their numbers show.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Rheanna Height hosts Dark Side of Money. She is a partner of an independent financial planning firm, FP Advisors, who built PlanDIY.ca, a tool that gives anyone a judgment-free look at their finances, no matter what they have or owe. Her goal for every event is to shine a light on the hard parts of money so they're less scary to talk about. If one person goes home and starts the conversation they've been putting off, the night did its job.
Real money. Real talk.
GOOD TO KNOW
When: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Time: Doors at 6:00 PM, conversation at 7:00 PM
Where: The Bell in Scona, 10416 80 Ave NW, Edmonton
Cost: Free
Format: Hosted conversation with a guest speaker, with an hour to mingle beforehand
Cadence: Monthly, on the second Wednesday
Event venue & nearby stays
The Bell in Scona Brewery, 10416 80 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, Canada
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