Having your own money, even a little, changes how easily you can say no.

Money works partly as a supply of refusals. When somebody else covers everything, every disagreement carries a quiet risk, and you start agreeing a little faster than you mean to. Even a small balance of your own breaks that link. The amount matters far less than the fact that it belongs to you.

Start a separate pot this week, however small, and put something into it from your next shift. Leave it alone for anything ordinary. Its job is to exist, not to be spent.