Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is just like you. The mom-of-two is not willing to loan money to broke family members because “I’m not trying to have fallouts over money.”
In other words, Jada will give loved ones her pocket change, but if a family member needs a loan for a new car or a new house, they are out of luck.
The Girls Trip star has set strict rules for herself when it comes to sharing her wealth, because she doesn’t want relationships to be ruined over someone’s failure to repay a loan.
Jada explained her stance on the latest episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk, as she helped a wealthy viewer named Samantha to navigate the “awkward” situation of feeling obliged to lend cash to relatives.
“For people like us, who came from backgrounds where we didn’t have much, don’t feel guilty,” Jada advised. “I spent so many years feeling guilty and my guilt made me feel like I owed everybody and I wasn’t allowed to say, ‘No.’ And that’s just not true, right?”
Will Smith‘s wife continued, “First of all, I don’t lend money. I only give money that I am willing to give like, ‘This is a gift.’
“I do not lend money because that turns into a lot of problems, just as far of the expectation of people paying you back or what have you. So I tend to not give where I can’t just say, ‘Here’s a gift to you.’ Specifically people who are close to me, ’cause I’m not trying to have fallouts over money.”
Jada says she will only come to someone’s financial assistance if they are truly ready for the help.
“So it’s like, somebody’s like, ‘I want a new house,’ but they don’t have a job to support the house they’re trying to buy. It’s like, ‘Well, you’re not ready for that.’ So I’m not about to help you get into something that ultimately is going to make more difficulty for you, right? And so, I really had to look at that. So I’ve also learned to help people with resources, with education.”
Concluding her money advice to Samantha, Jada added, “Don’t feel guilty just because we got our grind on. You don’t owe nobody nothing.”
