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This Canadian finfluencer is making money management more inclusive, engaging and fun through her personal finance company, Queerd Co.
Ellyce Fulmore is putting the “personal” back into “personal finance.” She’s the finfluencer and founder behind Queerd Co., which offers “shame-free finance education that goes beyond the numbers.” Queerd Co. views personal finance through an intersectional lens, meaning that it takes into account privilege, oppression, race, gender, sexuality, mental health, disability, and other identities and lived experiences.
Fulmore identifies as queer and neurodivergent, and she found that conventional financial education and tools didn’t help her control her impulse spending—a challenge for many people living with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). In 2020, Fulmore started posting on social media about how ADHD has impacted her finances, and she also launched Queerd Co. This year, she published her first book, Keeping Finance Personal: Ditch the “Shoulds” and the Shame and Rewrite Your Money Story (Hachette Go, 2024). (Read an excerpt.)
Fulmore, who is based in Calgary, is developing a range of courses and tools for Queerd Co. The signature offering will be the Neuro$picy Money Method, a six-week program that aims to help participants work with, rather than against, their brain to better understand and manage their finances. We asked Fulmore to share her thoughts on financial advice, debt and much more.
I wouldn’t say I have finance “heroes” but rather people in the personal finance space I admire and respect. Some examples are Alyssa Davies and Bridget Casey, who host an incredible podcast called Money Feels; Edgar Villanueva, who has been doing incredible work through the Decolonizing Wealth Project; and the entire faculty of Trauma of Money, a financial literacy and training program.
When I’m not teaching, talking and writing about all things personal finance, I enjoy exploring Calgary with my girlfriend, as well as reading, doing crosswords, thrifting or spending hours on my latest hyperfixation.
I really value the work that I do, and so I would definitely continue running my financial literacy business, Queerd Co., but with a few upgrades. I would reduce my hours and take a lot more trips, as my partner and I love to travel. This would also allow me to give back to the community, both with my financial resources and my time.
I wrote a section about first money memories in my book, Keeping Finance Personal, and discussed how I don’t have a specific first memory that I can recall. This was partly due to the fact that money just wasn’t discussed or talked about in my household growing up. That childhood experience taught me that money was taboo and shouldn’t be talked about, which ended up having a huge impact on me as an adult. When I was struggling financially in university, I wanted to talk to my friends about it, but it seemed like they were managing their money so much better than me. It wasn’t until years later that I found out my friends were struggling just as much as I was. This experience has encouraged me to talk about money openly, in as many different contexts and spaces as possible, because doing so helps people realize they are not alone in their struggles.
One of the first purchases I remember is saving up to buy a Beanie Baby with my allowance money.
My first “official” job was working at Boston Pizza as a dishwasher. I got that job because my parents told me that if I wanted a cell phone, I would have to pay for it myself. My first paycheque definitely went toward the cell phone fund. I was promoted to hostess three months later.
The understanding of how big a role your identity plays in your finances. Finance is deeply personal and intersectional, and your money is directly impacted by aspects of your identity such as privilege, race, gender, sexual orientation, mental health, disability, systems of oppression and more. The identities you hold will impact how you view, understand, spend and approach your money.
I didn’t fully understand this until I came out as queer and was diagnosed with ADHD. These realizations helped me make sense of a lot of my money behaviours and challenges. For example, I struggled with impulse spending for years, and ended up with $15,000 of high-interest debt because of that. I felt so ashamed of this debt, but I didn’t know that having ADHD makes me four times more likely to impulse spend than someone without ADHD. By understanding who you are, the privilege you hold and/or barriers you face, your lived experience and your trauma, you can begin to change your relationship with money and create a financial plan that makes sense for your life.
Learning this lesson is what inspired me to write a book and start my financial literacy company, Queerd Co., where our approach to financial literacy goes beyond the conventional, giving folks permission to be full human beings—not just numbers on a spreadsheet. At Queerd Co., our goal is financial equity, and every course we create, resource we recommend, space we hold and discussions we lead will aim to take a shame-free and identity-based approach to money.
That your financial situation is not your fault, and the shame you feel around money is not solely your shame to carry. I learned this inside of the Trauma of Money certification program, where we spent time examining and unpacking the idea of shame and responsibility when it comes to our money. The reality is that many of us inherit money trauma and learn our financial behaviours and habits from our caregivers. We also have to consider the government policies, financial institutions, and larger societal systems such as capitalism, and how those play a role in the decisions we make and the financial challenges we are subjected to. In the Trauma of Money, we were taught to ask ourselves, “Whose shame is this?” to help call attention to the fact that some of the shame we feel has been placed upon us, despite it not being our shame to carry. This advice really helped me reframe the way I felt about my past financial decisions.
I tell this story in chapter 1 of my book, which is all about finding safe spaces: The first time I went to talk to a financial advisor at the bank, the advisor made a misogynistic comment along the lines of, “When you have a husband, he will take care of this for you.” This was his response when I tried to ask questions about some financial terms he had briefly mentioned. This was horrible advice because: a) it was misogynistic; and b) it was encouraging me to not be in control of my own financial situation. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have financial autonomy, even within a marriage. If you ever find yourself in an abusive relationship, having access to your own money will give you the freedom to leave.
It would depend on the amount. If the smaller amount was enough to cover my monthly expenses, then I would choose that option, because it would give me the immense privilege of never again stressing about paying my bills. It would also take a lot of pressure off my business and allow me to explore more creative pursuits. But if the amount wasn’t enough to cover my bills, then I’d prefer the lump sum. I could actually make more money from the lump sum in the long term by investing it, but the first example would be a better decision emotionally.
Gamify your finances. This is great advice for almost everyone, but especially for anyone who is neurodivergent. If you can make managing your money fun and enjoyable, you’ll be more likely to actually keep up with it, and have greater success with reaching your goals.
That being “good with money” and building wealth is just a math game, and that all you need to do is manipulate the numbers—it’s so much more than that. Creating the perfect spreadsheet, debt repayment plan or investment strategy will never address the root of your money issues. We’ve been taught that if we follow the formulaic system for success, we will be wealthy and happy. But there’s no magic formula for success, because everyone’s lived experience, values, goals and definitions of wealth are different.
The same financial advisor who made misogynistic comments to me also advised me to invest $5,000 of my money into a GIC, or guaranteed investment certificate. Nothing against GICs, but based on my financial situation and goals at the time, that advice did not make sense. I could have earned a lot more in interest if I had invested that money in the stock market. But ultimately I don’t regret any of my past decisions, because they all played a role in shaping my approach to money today.
Personal values are the basic and fundamental beliefs that guide, motivate and determine what is most important to you in life. The word “value” to me is something that guides my behaviours, actions and decisions. I’m so passionate about the importance of values-based spending that I dedicated an entire chapter of my book to the topic. I personally invest a lot of money into my well-being. This means I spend money on services that make my life easier. Some examples are paying for grocery delivery and hiring a cleaner for my home. As someone who struggles with ADHD, anxiety and depression, it’s worth trading my money for more time and energy. I really value having increased bandwidth to work on my business and spend time with loved ones.
The first major purchase I made as an adult was a used 2008 Honda CRV.
My pet tortoise when I was a child. It took months of research and planning before I convinced my parents that I could handle the responsibility, and even longer to save up enough to purchase one.
Debt is morally neutral and often a result of systems outside of our control. We’ve been conditioned to believe that having debt is some sort of moral failing, but the reality is that it’s nearly impossible to live debt-free with the current cost of living—especially if you choose to go to university or buy a home. The debt that you carry does not dictate your personal value or financial success. For many people, their debt was actually a helpful tool that helped them get a degree, purchase a safe vehicle for their family, travel and have life-changing experiences, or simply survive.
Buying two amazing vintage gold rings for my birthday at an estate sale.
Since I spend so much of my days writing about money, I don’t read many personal finance books. However, I recently read Rich Dad Poor Dad (Warner Books, 2000) because I was making a video comparing his book to my book. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book. At best, it’s full of outdated, mediocre advice, and at worst, it’s problematic and harmful. Some examples of this would be using shame tactics to try and promote behaviour change, and encouraging readers to join an MLM (a.k.a. a pyramid scheme) to earn extra money.
My Koho prepaid Mastercard! I love using this card for my monthly allowance of fun money because it’s impossible to overspend with.
Currently it’s my two-foot-tall giant lava lamp. I have it running every day in my office. It honestly brings me so much joy.
Saving up six months’ worth of payroll in my business. Reaching this goal will allow me to plan six months ahead in my business, and pay myself a consistent salary without stress.
Personally, rent. You’re not throwing money away by renting, and owning a home isn’t the ultimate financial goal for everyone. If you’re living in a major Canadian city, it’s almost always a smarter financial decision to rent. However, buying a home is an emotional decision, and it might make more sense for you to own based on your personal situation.
It depends, but in my case, buying used.
Both. Save for short-term goals and a three- to six-month safety fund, and start investing as soon as possible.
Definitely “yes” to budgeting. Remember, a budget is just a plan for your money and it doesn’t have to involve tedious spreadsheets or tracking every dollar. The best budget is the one that works for you.
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