The Generous Way to Build Financial Confidence

We teach first. We bank second. Our Money Groundwork™ series is free, year-round, and has no sales component. Not even a subtle one. Because when people understand their money, they make better decisions — and that benefits everyone.

Money Groundwork™ — Free Financial Education That Actually Changes Behaviour

Most financial literacy programs hand you a pamphlet and hope for the best. Money Groundwork™ is different. Led by Simone Tremblay (MEd, CFEI), the series is built on adult education pedagogy — the science of how grown-ups actually learn and retain information. That means scenario-based exercises, real-number case examples, and take-home tools you'll use the following Monday morning.

Since launching in 2018, the program has served over 4,200 attendees across more than 120 individual sessions. Workshops are open to everyone — Drayton clients and non-clients alike. All materials are plain-language and jargon-free. We don't require sign-ups for our banking services, we don't collect sales data, and we don't follow up with product pitches.

Why do we do it? Because our founders — Gavin and Priya Drayton — believe that a bank's health is inseparable from its community's financial health. The more financially confident Edmonton becomes, the better it is for everyone. Including us. It's enlightened self-interest, and we've never tried to hide that.

Every topic we cover in Money Groundwork™ is also explored in depth through our Insights library — free articles written by the same team members who facilitate these workshops.

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What Makes These Workshops Different

We've attended plenty of "free" financial seminars that turned out to be 90-minute product presentations. That experience is exactly what we designed Money Groundwork™ to counter. Here's what you can expect when you walk in.

Real Numbers, Not Theory

Every workshop uses actual Canadian financial scenarios — current mortgage rates, real RRSP contribution limits, and today's tax brackets. We update materials before every single session so nothing is stale.

Take-Home Tools You'll Use

You leave with worksheets, calculators, and checklists — not a branded pen. Our homebuyer workshop includes a 14-point affordability calculator. Our retirement session includes a drawdown planner. Tools, not trinkets.

Small Groups, Open Questions

We cap sessions at 40 people so every attendee can ask their specific question. Our facilitators stay 30 minutes after every workshop for one-on-one follow-up. No question is too basic — or too complex.

Zero Sales Pressure — Verified

Our facilitators are prohibited from discussing Drayton Banking products during workshops. That's not a guideline — it's a written policy. We don't collect leads, we don't pass around sign-up sheets, and we don't follow up with offers.

Upcoming Workshops — Register Today, Pay Nothing Ever

Wondering if financial education can be genuinely useful — and free? Every session below costs nothing, sells nothing, and leaves you with something you can actually use. All workshops are held at our Edmonton office with a virtual attendance option for those who can't make it in person.

First-Time Homebuyer Readiness

📅 Saturday, November 8, 2026 🕙 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Drayton Banking Ltd., 10723 Violet Henry King Plaza, Edmonton, AB T5K 0G1
Format: In-person + virtual option (Zoom link provided upon registration)
Facilitator: Celeste Okafor-Beaulieu, CFP®

Thinking about buying your first home? Not sure how much you can actually afford — or whether the number your bank pre-approved you for is the same as what you can comfortably carry? This workshop cuts through the noise.

We cover the B-20 stress test and what it means for your borrowing power, down payment strategies (including the First Home Savings Account), fixed vs. variable rate analysis with current-day numbers, closing cost estimates that include the fees nobody warns you about, and how to read a mortgage commitment letter before you sign it.

If you've already been exploring our Mortgage Craft™ service or read our mortgage insights articles, this workshop will deepen that understanding with live Q&A and personalised scenarios. Bring your questions — all of them.

Understanding Credit in Canada — For Newcomers

📅 Wednesday, November 19, 2026 🕡 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Location: Drayton Banking Ltd., 10723 Violet Henry King Plaza, Edmonton, AB T5K 0G1 + virtual
Format: Part 1 of a 4-session series (subsequent dates provided at registration)
Facilitator: Simone Tremblay, MEd, CFEI

Canada's credit system wasn't designed to be intuitive — especially if you're navigating it for the first time without an established credit history. This four-part series (starting here) walks you through the fundamentals: how Equifax and TransUnion scoring actually works, the difference between secured and unsecured credit products, and why a "thin file" isn't a reflection of your financial responsibility.

By the end of the full series, you'll have a personalised 12-month credit-building roadmap — a step-by-step plan tailored to your specific situation, whether you arrived in Canada last month or last year. We also address common mistakes that can set newcomers back, like applying for too many products at once or misunderstanding utilisation ratios.

Available in English with supplementary materials in Mandarin and Arabic. Our Credit Architecture service complements this series for those who want ongoing, personalised guidance.

Retirement Income Planning: The Permission to Spend

📅 Saturday, December 6, 2026 🕙 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Drayton Banking Ltd., 10723 Violet Henry King Plaza, Edmonton, AB T5K 0G1 + virtual
Format: In-person + virtual option
Facilitator: Priya Drayton, PhD

You spent decades saving. Now what? The financial industry spends billions teaching people how to accumulate wealth, but almost nothing on how to draw it down wisely — and comfortably. This workshop addresses the psychology of spending in retirement, RRIF withdrawal scheduling that minimises tax impact, OAS clawback avoidance strategies, and how to build a drawdown plan that lets you enjoy what you've earned without the constant fear of running out.

Priya Drayton's background in behavioural psychology (read more on our About page) brings a unique lens to this topic. We explore why retirees who saved diligently often can't bring themselves to spend — and what to do about it. Includes a take-home drawdown calculator with CPP, OAS, and RRIF integration.

Because saving was the easy part. Giving yourself permission to spend? That's the real work. See how we've helped retirees navigate this transition in our case studies.

Teaching Kids About Money — Age-Appropriate Strategies That Stick

📅 Wednesday, January 14, 2027 🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Location: Drayton Banking Ltd., 10723 Violet Henry King Plaza, Edmonton, AB T5K 0G1 + virtual
Format: In-person + virtual option (parents and guardians only — no children required)
Facilitator: Simone Tremblay, MEd, CFEI

When should you start talking to kids about money? Sooner than you think. Research consistently shows that financial habits form as early as age seven — which means the conversations you have (or avoid) in early childhood shape decades of money behaviour.

This workshop covers age-appropriate strategies for children ages 4–17: how to introduce earning and spending concepts to preschoolers, allowance structures that actually teach budgeting (not just entitlement), why teenagers should see your household budget, and how to use RESPs as a hands-on teaching tool rather than just a savings vehicle.

Simone Tremblay's Master of Education background means this isn't financial advice dressed up as parenting tips — it's pedagogy. Bring the skeptics — we convert them every session. Learn more about Simone and our full team on our About page.

Where We've Shared Our Perspective Beyond Our Walls

Our commitment to financial education extends well beyond our own workshop series. Since 2005, our team members have appeared at conferences, universities, professional development events, and community organisations across Alberta — sharing practical expertise on personal banking, behavioural finance, and newcomer financial integration.

While the big firms were still scheduling a meeting about financial literacy, we already shipped an entire workshop series. Here are some recent highlights.

Alberta Financial Literacy Summit 2026

Keynote: "Why Banks Should Teach, Not Just Sell" — A 45-minute address on the business case for free financial education, including data from our own Money Groundwork™ program showing that informed non-clients convert to clients at three times the rate of traditional marketing.

— Gavin Drayton, Co-Founder

Edmonton Newcomer Services Consortium, Spring 2026

Panel: "Building Financial Bridges for New Canadians" — Simone shared our 12-month credit-building roadmap methodology and discussed how language-accessible financial education can accelerate newcomer economic integration by years, not decades.

— Simone Tremblay, MEd, CFEI

MacEwan University School of Business, Fall 2025

Guest Lecture: "Behavioural Finance in Personal Banking" — A two-hour session for third-year finance students exploring how cognitive biases affect everyday banking decisions, from mortgage commitment escalation to the endowment effect in account switching.

— Priya Drayton, PhD, Co-Founder

CPA Alberta Professional Development Conference 2025

Workshop: "Estate-Efficient Account Structures for Tax Professionals" — A practitioner-focused session covering joint account designations, beneficiary structures that avoid probate, and TFSA estate transfer strategies that CPAs can recommend to their clients.

— Marcus Olsen, Senior Advisor

Edmonton Public Library Adult Learning Series, 2024–Ongoing

Monthly: "Money Basics" facilitated sessions — An ongoing partnership where Priya leads monthly 90-minute sessions on foundational financial topics including budgeting, saving, debt management, and understanding financial statements. Over 600 attendees to date across 18 sessions.

— Priya Drayton, PhD

Bring Practical Financial Expertise to Your Event

Our team members are available for conferences, workshops, panel discussions, university guest lectures, and corporate lunch-and-learns on personal banking, financial literacy, behavioural finance, newcomer financial integration, and estate-efficient account structuring.

We don't charge speaking fees for community and educational events. (Yes, really. We told you — we teach first.) For corporate and professional development events, we discuss scope and format on a case-by-case basis, but our fees remain nominal — this is a community investment, not a revenue line.

Wondering if your audience is the right fit? If they care about making smarter financial decisions — whether they're students, newcomers, professionals, or retirees — they are. Our speakers have presented to audiences ranging from 15 people in a library meeting room to 300+ at provincial conferences.

What sets our speakers apart: they bring specific, implementable knowledge — not vague motivational platitudes. Attendees leave with tools, frameworks, and next steps, not just inspiration. Every presentation is customised to the audience and includes take-home resources developed specifically for that event.

To learn more about the people behind the presentations, visit our About page. To submit a speaking request, reach out through our contact form or call us directly at (213) 286-6611.

Request a Speaker

Knowledge Shouldn't Be Behind a Paywall

Every workshop we run, every article we publish, every conversation we have starts with the same belief: informed people make better decisions. That's why we've invested in 120+ free sessions since 2018 — no strings attached.

Ready to experience what banking looks like when teaching comes first? Start with a free Financial Confidence Assessment — a 30-minute conversation about your goals, your questions, and where we might help.

Book Your Free Assessment