Meet the MEAL Team

“Some people are snacks - we are the whole meal” - The MEAL Team

How to Manage Your Finances to Reduce Your Debt

Finance is a topic that looks like a mountain that is impossible to climb if you don’t have the right guide. Here at TDS, we believe that gaining money is only a fraction of your total workload as a debtless student. Once you have money, it is very easy to become a bit slack with your finances because you “deserve it.” And you do, to some extent. Allow me to ramble for a moment. It is very unfortunate that schools don’t teach the basics of finances in a way that is informative, practical and, most importantly, interesting. This is why we’ve created a group to help you with your finances!

Meet the MEAL Team

To educate myself (and everyone else), I have decided to surround myself with people that know the perks of handling money. Thus, the MEAL Team was born; composed of Michael, Evan, Aedon, and Yours Truly (Louis-Philippe. When we first met, I was curious about their experiences, and asked them about how they got started with finances. I was surprised! They have kindly agreed to share their stories with you today, so you can get to know more about your mentors for the finance posts. Let’s get started!

Aedon JanesHello everyone, I am Aedon Janes, and I am the financial team lead for TDS. I will be writing blogs for you all, and hope to share my knowledge in the area of finance. Finance is always something I have been interested in. I have spent countless hours learning the ins and outs of budgeting, investing, and finance on the internet, and through reading books. I am also taking a degree in Commerce, and I am continuously learning more and more everyday! I am also part of a non-profit organization, where I have been learning about budgeting. There, I am in the finance committee and manage the budget. I look forward to writing, learning, and sharing with you all. :)

Michael Kohlman

Hi, I’m Michael and I am an engineering student at the University of Calgary. I’m an avid skier, a die-hard Flames fan, and I love volunteering. Even though I’m not studying finance in university, I’ve always been interested in money, mostly thanks to my mom. She is an accountant and has been giving me excellent financial advice for my entire life. I’m excited to pass some of that knowledge on to you!

I’ve been investing in the stock market since I was 15, mostly focusing on blue chip dividend stocks (keep calm; we will cover what it means soon enough). I decided to start investing because I was very underwhelmed by how little my savings accounts were paying in interest. This inspired me to take a more active approach to managing my money, which is what we hope to help you do here! I’m excited to work with you!

Evan Maloney

Hey Guys! My name is Evan Maloney and I am the Grant Writing Team Co-Lead for TDS. My role is to apply to grants at different organizations and oversee finances! Outside of school, I love most sports; especially surfing, skiing and biking! In terms of financial literacy, I have been learning to invest since I was 13 years old, after an in-school stock project, where my dad (a long-time investor) began teaching me about his value investing approach to buying stocks! I then bought my first stock when I was 14. I focus on high-value stocks that have considerable upside.

After making money on my first couple of investments, I began to see my savings pile up. Since then, I have been hooked. Additionally, I have experience in building a small online business and I have learned many lessons from this venture. I want to share the financial knowledge I have learned in the last couple of years with you guys! Super excited for what’s to come!

The MEAL Team, Signing Off

Stay tuned! The MEAL Team is working hard to produce articles that will soon be out to teach you the important concepts of handling money. We got your back! And remember, some people are just snacks, we are the whole MEAL!