The world of financial planning is undergoing a series of profound transformations.¹ Gone are the days when financial advisors were solely tasked with crunching numbers, building investment portfolios, and crafting retirement strategies.

Among the changes is that today’s most effective financial planners are broadening their scope to act as holistic prosperity guides, helping clients navigate not just the technical aspects of wealth-building but also the emotional and psychological frameworks that underpin their financial decisions.

This shift reflects a growing understanding that the levers for true financial well-being extend far beyond the numbers on a balance sheet.

Understanding Key Money Mindsets: Scarcity vs. Abundance

At the center of the industry’s evolution is financial psychology—a growing discipline that explores how individuals emotionally connect with money and how those connections influence their behaviors. Modern planners recognize that beliefs, attitudes, and mindsets surrounding money play a crucial role in determining financial success or setbacks.

Key to this transformation is the concept of money mindsets, and one of the more common money mindsets of clients are often seen as falling into one of two common options:

• Negative money beliefs: These act as mental roadblocks, preventing individuals from achieving financial goals.
• Empowered money attitudes: These cultivate healthier behaviors, unlocking lasting prosperity.

In some instances, helping a client recognize that their mindset is hindering their relationship with money is crucial for success. Central to this shift are two specific mindsets:

• Negative money beliefs serve scarcity thinking. Scarcity thinking is rooted in fear and the belief that there’s never enough to go around. Those with a scarcity mindset often view life as a zero-sum game, where one person’s gain is another’s loss. This perspective can manifest as constant worry about money, reluctance to invest or take calculated risks, and a tendency to hoard resources.
• Empowered money attitudes serve abundance thinking. Abundance thinking is characterized by optimism and the belief that there are ample opportunities and resources for everyone. People with an abundance mindset tend to be more collaborative, generous, and open to new possibilities.

The impact of these two common mindsets on financial decision-making cannot be overstated.² Each mindset can have significantly different implications for the client’s behaviors toward money:

Scarcity mindset behavioral tendencies:

• Persistent worrying can lead to impulsive behavior.
• Reluctant to invest, take risks.
• Often hoard resources.
• Choices driven by fear, focusing on short-term gains.
• May miss growth opportunities and hesitate to negotiate or invest.

Abundance mindset behavioral tendencies:

• Decisions are made with confidence and a long-term perspective.
• More willing to embrace healthy risks and self-investment.
• Can help build a more resilient attitude.

For financial planners, helping clients transition from scarcity to abundance can unlock financial success and fulfillment. This approach combines mindset work with traditional strategies, enriching clients’ relationships with money.

How to Help Clients Begin to Cultivate an Abundance Mindset

Helping clients shift their mindset takes practice, especially if you’re used to seeing the world through a lens of competition or fear. Shifting to a different mindset can help clients become more resilient. Here’s how to help them begin the shift:

1. Recognize Scarcity Thinking

Start by observing your internal dialogue. Note how often you think:

• “There aren’t enough good clients and I’m afraid my business won’t grow.”
• “There’s never enough time to make the right connections.”
• “I can’t afford to take risks, such as investing in more staff and technology.”

Awareness is the first step. Help clients label these as scarcity thoughts and understand they are not facts—they’re habits of thought.

2. Practice Gratitude Daily

Gratitude is a cornerstone of abundance. During meetings, ask clients to share what is working well for them, and what they are thankful for.

• Three things they are thankful for.
• One challenge they overcame.
• One opportunity ahead.

Exhibiting gratitude reduces stress and shifts your focus from what’s missing to what’s working.

3. Reframe Setbacks as Lessons Learned

Guide clients through setbacks by focusing on the learning opportunity. When scarcity mindsets say: “I failed. I’m done,” an abundance mindset says: “I learned. I’m adjusting.” When a challenge arises, such as being laid off by an employer occurs, discuss with the client:

• “What did this teach me?”
• “How might this be an opportunity?”

Resilience is essential for wealth building and personal growth. Resilience encourages moving past mistakes, not defining ourselves by them. In an unpredictable financial world, resilience isn’t just beneficial; it’s essential for staying on course, rebuilding quickly, and making sound decisions that lead to lasting financial security and growth.

The Power of Asking the Right Questions in Developing Mindsets

A mindset shift begins with awareness—and this is where a skilled financial planner can serve as a catalyst. The effective financial planner doesn’t just ask about the client’s income or retirement goals; they ask deeper, revealing questions:

• “What’s your earliest ‘money memory’?”
• “What’s a financial goal you’ve been hesitant to pursue or haven’t shared with anyone?”
• “What money situations and outcomes do you find yourself worrying about the most?”

These questions expose the emotional roots of your clients’ financial behaviors and beliefs.

The ability to ask clients the right questions has become a crucial skill for advisors. Discussions initiated by open-ended, probing questions go beyond surface-level inquiries about income and expenses. They delve into the client’s relationship with money, their financial goals, and the emotions that drive their financial decisions.

To create an environment that fosters these candid discussions, it can be helpful to start with:

• Setting the right tone from the beginning of the relationship.
• Showing genuine interest in the client’s overall well-being, not just their finances.
• Using empathetic listening skills to make clients feel heard and understood.

A good rule of thumb when helping clients shift mindsets is that instead of asking “yes or no” questions or focusing solely on numerical data, financial planners should ask questions that encourage reflection and self-discovery.

Benefits of Using Structured Prompts in Financial Advising

Building strong client relationships is crucial for financial advisors, yet money discussions often leave clients feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed. On the other side of the equation are planners, who do not always find it easy to ask probing questions that may feel too personal. However, pre-planned conversation prompts change this dynamic by fostering meaningful financial conversations without making the client or the planner feel judged or vulnerable.

When I was a planner, I was noticing when certain questions acted as prompts for better client conversations. Over time, I refined my questions, eventually developing a set of forty-eight questions that could supercharge conversations and help other financial planners better understand their clients’ motivations.

Eventually these cards became Money Talks! Cards^®, a deck of forty-eight cards I created to be conversation starters that help shift people’s relationship to money.

When used by advisors and clients together, the cards can transform money discussions from transactional exchanges into meaningful conversations by:

• Inspiring deeper client connections: A major reason prompts enable conversations beyond numbers and allow for delving into emotional and psychological aspects is by having the questions come from the cards; it separates the planner from the equation. This helps clients (and planners) not feel awkward or judged.
• Providing more personalized advice: With information gleaned from the set of questions in the deck of cards, planners can tailor recommendations across their client base based on a more structured understanding of their clients’ lives.
• Acting as a competitive differentiator: Using prompts taken from a deck of cards to inspire deeper conversations can help demonstrate your level of commitment to deeper client engagement, fostering trust and loyalty.

By transforming financial conversations into collaborative partnerships, conversation cards help planners create a more profound, client-centered approach to achieving financial well-being.

    

Multiple Ways to Use Question Prompts in Financial Planning

The effectiveness of conversation cards lies in their versatility. In the case of Money Talks! Cards^®, the deck comes with directions for various usage methods, allowing planners to tailor their approach to each client’s needs and preferences. While the primary focus for financial advisors might be on one-on-one chats, the cards offer flexibility for various scenarios.

As Part of Planning Discussions

The most direct application of the cards is during advisor-client meetings. The cards serve as a structured yet organic way to spark discussions beyond typical financial topics. By presenting a card and asking a thought-provoking question, you create an opportunity for clients to share insights they might not have volunteered otherwise. This approach can reveal crucial information about a client’s financial mindset, goals, and potential roadblocks.

As a Tool for the Client and Their Family

An innovative way to extend the impact of these conversations is through “partner play.” This method involves sending cards home with clients to discuss with their family members. Whether it’s conversations between spouses, adult children, or teenagers, these cards can facilitate important financial discussions within the family. This approach not only enhances your client’s financial awareness but also positions you as a valuable resource for the entire family.

As Part of a Daily Ritual

Financial planners can help clients learn how to use the cards to start the day with a money mindfulness moment. By drawing a single prompt from a section of the deck each morning and reflecting on it throughout the day, clients can shift longstanding beliefs by getting to the root causes of their current mindset.

As a Tool for Transformation

Using the cards in tandem with a specific effort to achieve a goal can help clients stay focused on that goal and stay grounded in the emotional aspects of it. Whether drawing a single card each day for a month, or just using one card as a daily mantra, the habitual nature of focusing on the emotional aspects of pursuing a goal is an effective way for clients to make progress in their financial lives.

Focused Planning Conversations Can Help Shift Client Mindsets

Financial planners who ask deeper, more probing questions create space for clients to examine the emotional roots of their financial decisions. Fear-based mindsets often stem from past experiences, limiting beliefs, or inherited anxieties about money. Surface-level conversations can gloss over these factors, but thoughtful, open-ended questions—like “What’s your definition of financial success?,” or “How does your financial stress impact other areas of your life, such as your relationships, health, and career?”—allow clients to reflect, articulate, and ultimately reframe their perspectives. This process helps demystify financial fears and gives clients a sense of ownership over their narrative.

To learn more about becoming better at having deeper client conversations, download our conversation guide, The Art of Asking: A Conversation Guide for Financial Professionals.

¹ World Economic Forum, 6 trends shaping financial advice in the fintech era, Andrea Willige, April 2024

² National Library of Medicine, The links among relative financial scarcity, thinking style, fatalism, and well‐being, Amparo Caballero, Itziar Fernández, Pilar Aguilar, Pilar Carrera, July 2022

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

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