Jordyn Woods has been out of the way, with her man and in her bag. Speaking of the latter, in a recent episode of the podcast Assets Over Liabilities, Woods had hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings visit her at her business headquarters.
The entrepreneur used money gifted to her by her boyfriend, NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns, for her birthday, to start her clothing brand Woods by Jordyn. The two have been dating over three years now.
For the couple, talking about money doesn’t seem to be an issue. But what about discussing funds with others? During their conversation, the hosts asked Woods what she thinks about discussing money with friends.
“I just feel like it complicates things,” the 25-year-old said. “And I don’t like sharing financial stuff with really anybody except the people I need to know. I just feel like money complicates things. If we are having an idea talking about money and a sense of financial literacy, or is this the right move or should I buy this or whatever, it’s fine. But like, if we’re working together, I wanna have a contract, have it all in writing, talk about it once, and then we don’t have to talk about it again.”
Woods also added that sharing income with friends could create room for pocket watching.
“I also just feel like people, I wouldn’t say my friends, but you just don’t know how people are, and you don’t want people to end up feeling like jealous or counting your pockets or you go out and people are like, ‘well, you could pay for it all,’” the business owner said to the hosts.
Online, people had mixed reactions to her point of view, with some saying she needed new friends if she couldn’t discuss money with them. Others agreed that they don’t discuss money with those in their circle and there was no need to.
Bilal and Millings went on to explain how in some cases, sharing finances can be beneficial and help your friends level up. They gave the example of two friends who do similar work discussing how much they make and how that could shed light on pay differences and discrepancies. Based on that premise, they wanted to know if Woods still held the same sentiments.
“I think it definitely could be beneficial, especially if you guys wanna potentially break bread together or whatever,” she said. “If you guys are in the same lane, like with sharing social media posts and stuff like that, like, ‘oh, well you did a deal with this company. I made 50K and you made 5K, but we have the same amount of followers,’ you know?”
While friends may choose not to discuss money, pay transparency is becoming more pervasive and salary range transparency laws are a legal requirement in states like California, Maryland, New York, and Washington. This alone can show how beneficial it can be to discuss money and how in some cases, it can help level the playing field.
If employers are required to be transparent about pay and employees are potentially discussing money with one another, it seems like it may be something people who are in healthy, trusting friendships should be able to discuss it also. If someone is counting your coins, jealous, or taking advantage of your financial situation, then maybe one should reconsider whether that individual is truly a friend.