Build your skills before you need them. Nobody learns to swim once the boat is sinking.

Capability takes time to develop and emergencies do not supply time. Whatever you can do when things go wrong is whatever you happened to learn beforehand, which means the useful work gets done during calm periods that feel like they do not matter. Most people wait for a reason, then find the reason arrives with a deadline attached. Preparation is boring precisely because nothing is happening yet.

Pick one skill you would want during a bad month and start it now, while nothing is urgent. Basic money handling, a hard conversation, a practical repair. Twenty minutes a week is enough to begin.