Editorial: Penny for your thoughts

Special IssueEditorialThe Link — Published November 2, 2021 2 minutes

The desire to achieve financial stability affects nearly every crevice of our lives, from the quality of food we eat, to our living spaces and conditions, our mental health, and even the roles we take on in society. 

As students, money also affects our grades, how much of ourselves we dedicate to studies, what textbooks we can afford, where we can study, and what resources we have access to.

We go through a lot of stress in our day-to-day lives, and financial instability only adds to that. Even a single night can have major consequences, leaving you feeling like all your hard work has gone to waste. Simply put, we try juggling so many things at once that we can’t always afford to dedicate ourselves to one thing in particular. 

We have our course loads, internships, side jobs, hobbies, and other commitments that make it nearly impossible to be financially stable, let alone comfortable. 

The Money Issue aims to reveal the many struggles we go through during our degrees, and how they all relate to money. Simultaneously, this issue will provide Concordia’s community with tips, recipes, and hopefully the motivation to finish our semester in one piece. With any luck, this issue will give us all a sense of relatability, and, maybe, we’ll realize that a lot of our individual problems are really the struggles of our demographic. Between midterms and finals, we’re all going through it one way or another. 

In this magazine, we critique the socio-political systems that have brought us to a point where we’d need five roommates in a three and a half to afford rent, while also poking fun at our situations. As an advocacy publication, The Link aims to highlight the needs of local communities—especially in terms of financial needs. We cover textbook accessibility, financial aid, food accessibility, and the many consequences of living below the poverty line.

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and sure enough, we have capitalism to thank for it. As a publication, we seek to uncover how money and economics have contributed to the thin line that separates power from poverty, as well as the effects of this duality. Thus, in this issue, we highlight communities in Montreal that are seeking alternative methods to save money.

Take a page out of this magazine and save a buck! You can thank us later. 

This article originally appeared in The Money Issue, published November 2, 2021.