Drawing from Resource Scarcity Theory (e.g., Shah, Mullainathan, & Shafir, 2012) and Motivational Theory of Life Span Development (e.g, Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010), the purpose of this study is to examine the mutual relations among financial adequacy, time orientation in planning, and control strategies throughout the life course. We propose that one’s level of financial adequacy shapes motivation and control strategies over time in a unique way that can reciprocally affect the development of financial resources over time. Results based on latent change models using 3080 adults from a large public dataset showed that financial inadequacy predicted decreases in future-oriented planning and increases in present-oriented temporal focus over a 20-year period. Future planning also positively predicted changes in control strategies – that is, increased persistence in goal striving and decreased tendency to rescale aspirations downward; however, those with a present-oriented temporal focus showed the opposite pattern. Reciprocally, results showed that the pattern of control strategies shaped the changes in temporal focus over time. Likewise, future-oriented planning also predicted improvement in financial adequacy, whereas present-oriented temporal focus predicted the deterioration of one’s financial situation over time. The findings suggest a unique role for financial adequacy in altering motivation and the patterns of striving for important goals in life. Future directions and implications for research on motivational development over life course are discussed.