Don’t let a money scarcity mindset get the best of you, experts say

A person uses the calculator app on their phone and works on a spreadsheet in a photo illustration made in Toronto, on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. Photo by Sammy Kogan /The Canadian Press

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Even when you have a decent job and your bills always get paid off on time, you might still feel afraid that you’re not getting ahead or you’ll never have enough.

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Some of that feeling could be the effects of the affordability crisis. Other times, it’s a sign of being stuck in a money scarcity mindset.

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An emotional, fear-based response, a financial scarcity mindset often sends people down a rabbit hole of overthinking, instilling beliefs that they will never have enough money to live comfortably and that they will always be stuck in some form of financial turmoil. This mindset can harm one’s long-term financial wellbeing and quality of life, experts say.

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“The mindset plays a very big role in keeping people stuck in the financial situation they’re in,” said Jeri Bittorf, a financial wellness co-ordinator with Resolve Counselling Services Canada.

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Bittorf said she frequently encounters clients who have a scarcity mindset in her line of work. Sometimes, people hold onto fears that they will never be able to earn more or reduce their expenses, and their situation will never get better.

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That emotional response usually comes from some sort of trauma around money, said Kalee Boisvert, a financial adviser at Raymond James Ltd.

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It could stem from childhood experiences, such as growing up poor, but it can also be established later in life from a perceived lack of resources, or by hearing stories of people around you unable to pay their rent or afford groceries, Boisvert said.

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“Sometimes, this money scarcity has come from stories that people have heard and almost taken on as their own or the fear of that,” she said.

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Boisvert picks up on red flags of a scarcity mindset among her clients when she hears comments such as: “I’m terrible with money; I’m scared that I’ll never be able to retire; I should be doing a better job or should be doing more.”

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That’s “money scarcity mindset working in the background,” she said.

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Boisvert said the mindset can lead to confidence and self-worth issues, which eventually spill into everyday life decisions about jobs, partners you choose or the residence you choose to live in.

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Bittorf said it’s important to get to the root cause of this mindset, and that journaling plays an important role in unpacking patterns and beliefs around money.

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“I have them start at, like, the earliest ages of memory, around five years old,” she said.

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Bittorf uses prompt questions about financial security growing up such as if their parents talked about money, whether they experienced financial arguments at home and if they fit in financially at school.

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“I want them to be thinking about all of those things because those are going to influence the decisions you make now, even if you don’t realize it,” she said.

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Sometimes, Bittorf encourages her clients to create vision boards about what they’re passionate about and what their future selves look like with an abundance mindset. That creates an excitement to pursue those plans.