Mindfulness and Money: From Scarcity to Abundance

a mindful relationship with money is possible

Money is one of the most emotionally charged topics in modern life. We work for it, save it, invest it, and spend it. Yet, for many of us, no matter how much we earn, we never seem to have “enough.” The moment we reach one financial milestone, the bar moves higher. A better house, a bigger savings account, the next investment. This insatiable pursuit is not always about survival—it’s often about more.

This cycle of perpetual striving is fueled not only by societal pressures and cultural narratives, but also by deep-seated beliefs about money formed in our earlier years. Without conscious awareness, we can find ourselves trapped in a pattern of dissatisfaction, constantly looking at what we lack instead of appreciating what we have.

The Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset

The way we relate to money is shaped by our mindset:

• Scarcity Mindset

  
  

  In a scarcity state, our focus is on what’s missing. This mindset often comes with anxiety, hypervigilance, and a fear of loss. Psychologically, it narrows our perspective, leading to short-term thinking and risk aversion.  Mullainathan and Shafir (2013) found that scarcity—whether of money, time, or resources—captures mental bandwidth and reduces cognitive capacity, making it harder to plan for the long term.

  
  

• Abundance Mindset

  
  

  An abundance state doesn’t mean reckless spending or ignoring financial realities. Instead, it reflects a belief that there are enough resources and opportunities to meet our needs—and that we are capable of creating value in our lives. Research on broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2004) suggests that positive emotions, often cultivated by an abundance orientation, expand cognitive flexibility, creativity, and resilience.

The difference is subtle but powerful: the same financial goal can either be pursued with tension and desperation or with curiosity and confidence.

How Mindfulness Can Help Shift the Mindset

Mindfulness—the practice of paying attention with openness and non-judgment—offers practical tools for moving from scarcity to abundance.

1. Noticing the Greed Impulse

   Through mindfulness practice, we become aware of the “more, more, more” drive as it arises. We can recognize it as a mental event, rather than a command we must obey.

   
   

2. Gratitude Practices

   Daily reflection on what we already have—whether through journaling, meditation, or verbal expression—helps shift our attention from lack to sufficiency. Studies show that gratitude interventions can increase life satisfaction and reduce materialistic tendencies (Rash et al., 2011).

   
   

3. Exploring Money Beliefs

   Set aside time to recall early experiences with money: the way your family talked about it, the emotions you felt when you earned or spent, moments of financial security or insecurity. Mindfulness allows us to explore these memories without judgment, helping us see how they shape our present-day attitudes.

   
   

4. Responding, Not Reacting

   When faced with financial decisions—whether to upgrade a car, invest in a business, or splurge on a trip—mindfulness helps create a pause between impulse and action. In that pause lies the freedom to choose intentionally.

The Research on Mindfulness and Money Attitudes

Research is starting to confirm what many practitioners experience: mindfulness is linked to lower materialism and greater financial contentment. For example, Brown and Kasser (2005) found that higher dispositional mindfulness predicted lower endorsement of materialistic values and greater well-being.

Gentina et al., (2021) showed that mindfulness training can significantly reduce avaricious monetary attitudes and enhance ethical consumer beliefs, with the effects strengthened by consistent practice over time. Their findings highlight that mindfulness doesn’t just reduce compulsive striving for more—it can also foster a more values-aligned relationship with money.

Kasser et al., (2014) also found that mindfulness practice was associated with less compulsive consumption and greater satisfaction with what one already had. Together, these studies suggest that mindfulness works by reducing automatic comparison with others, increasing present-moment appreciation, and supporting self-regulation—all of which weaken the grip of greed-driven money mindsets.

Where We Teach This in Depth

This exploration of money, mindset, and mindfulness is not just a theoretical exercise—it is an important element in The Science and Practice of Mindfulness at Work, an undergraduate for-credit course at Singapore Management University. In this course, students learn how to examine their money beliefs, recognize scarcity thinking, and cultivate a mindset of sufficiency and agency.

Similarly, in the Mindfulness-Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT) for working adults, we address financial attitudes as part of the broader theme of strategic decision-making. The aim is not complacency, but clarity—making financial choices from a grounded, values-driven place rather than from the restless pull of scarcity.

In the end, mindfulness doesn’t tell us how much money to have—it helps us know when we have enough, and how to grow from a place of confidence, not fear.

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References

Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74(2), 349–368.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden–and–build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512

Gentina, E., Daniel, C., & Tang, T. L.-P. (2021). Mindfulness Reduces Avaricious Monetary Attitudes and Enhances Ethical Consumer Beliefs: Mindfulness Training, Timing, and Practicing Matter. Journal of Business Ethics, 173(2), 301–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04559-5

Kasser, T., Rosenblum, K. L., Sameroff, A. J., Deci, E. L., Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., Árnadóttir, O., Bond, R., Dittmar, H., Dungan, N., & Hawks, S. (2014). Changes in materialism, changes in psychological well-being: Evidence from three longitudinal studies and an intervention experiment. Motivation and Emotion, 38(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9371-4

Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2013). Scarcity: Why having too little means so much. Macmillan.

Rash, J. A., Matsuba, M. K., & Prkachin, K. M. (2011). Gratitude and Well‐Being: Who Benefits the Most from a Gratitude Intervention? Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 3(3), 350–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2011.01058.x