The expression STRAITENED CIRCUMSTANCES means circumstances in which you have very little money or at least less money than before:
They’ve lived in straitened circumstances since they lost their jobs.
The war left us here in straitened circumstances.
His decision to no longer help his ex-wife left her in straitened circumstances.
After the accident he could no longer work and soon fell into straitened circumstances.
In these straitened circumstances he had to sell his house and buy a small apartment.
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