Money is stored decision-making
Seneca: it is not the man who has too little but the man who craves more who is poor. Savings are not comfort — they are the ability to refuse work that would cost you your character.
Malcolm X on rebuilding
A man in a prison library rebuilt himself with a dictionary. Whatever your position, the raw material of provision is skill acquired deliberately, not luck awaited passively.
The margin rule
Count freedom in months of expenses covered. One month is fragility. Six months is a spine. Twelve months is the ability to say no to nearly anyone.