Save enough resources that desperation stops negotiating for you.

Desperation is a poor negotiator. It accepts bad terms, stays in bad situations, and makes decisions that look inexplicable later. Reserves do not make you braver. They just remove desperation from the room, so the decision can be made by you rather than by need.

Build whatever margin you can, even slowly. The goal is not wealth. It is that when a decision matters, you are choosing rather than being pushed.