Pronunciation trap:
据 here is jū (first tone), NOT jù (fourth tone) as in the much more common
据说/
根据.
拮据 originally meant "laboring hard" (
《诗经·豳风·鸱鸮》:
予手拮据) and only later narrowed to mean financially squeezed. Always check the tone - many native speakers misread it too.
