How does ''ni'' fit in here?

Question

I'm trying to figure out this sentence, I'm still new but it still doesn't make sense to me.

お金にお困りのようね

Shouldn't it be a "ga" or a "ha"? How is the trouble going towards money or is in money?

Or could it be that the thing that is troubling the person is the target aka the money?

Answer 1

All Japanese particles, including に, have more than one usages. Here, this is に that marks the cause of someone's psychological reaction.

• に in コントロールに苦しまなくなった
• When do you use に to indicate a cause or reason for something?

You can also use で and say お金でお困りのようね. The meaning remains the same.

Note that 困る is an intransitive verb meaning "to suffer" or "to have trouble". お金がお困りのようね or お金はお困りのようね would mean something strange, "Looks like money is suffering" or "Looks like money is having trouble", as if money had its own will.