Yahweh’s Money®️: The Crossroads of Religion & Money

Legacy & Ledger: Passing Down Faith and Financial Freedom to The Next Generation with Angela Byrd

• Crusaders for Change, LLC • Season 4 • Episode 88

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In this episode of Yahweh’s Money, we’re keeping it faithful, practical, and generational. Shay Cook sits down with longtime friend, veteran, and financial role model Angela Byrd for a powerful conversation on how to build a legacy of faith and financial wisdom that lasts for generations.

This episode explores the intersection of spiritual stewardship, family values, and financial preparedness—showing why leaving a godly inheritance goes far beyond money. Angela opens up about growing up between Jamaica, England, and the U.S., watching her grandmother invest in land in the 1950s, and how those lessons continue to guide her financial and spiritual journey today.

Together, Shay and Angela unpack what it means to “pass the ledger and the Lord”—equipping future generations with wisdom, preparation, and peace of mind.

You’ll discover:

  • How faith and financial discipline go hand in hand when leaving a legacy.
  • The difference between material inheritance and spiritual financial legacy.
  • Why having insurance, wills, and estate plans is an act of love—not fear.
  • The real cost of avoiding financial conversations in Black and Brown families.
  • How to choose an executor who aligns with your values—not just your family ties.
  • The importance of teaching children and grandchildren about money early.
  • Why land ownership and paying property taxes are vital to preserving family wealth.
  • How prayer, obedience, and stewardship create stability across generations.

Featured Scripture:

Proverbs 13:22 — “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”

Action Step:

This week, identify one financial principle you learned from an elder—whether it’s saving, giving, or stewardship. Write it down, pray over it, and share it with a younger family member. Because true wealth isn’t just what you leave for your family—it’s what you leave in them.

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Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Crusaders for Change, LLC (C4C) and hosted by our CEO and Founder, Mrs. Shay Cook. At C4C, we provide customized corporate financial wellness programs for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our services are tailored to create happier, healthier, and more productive work environments. We also empower individuals and couples to overcome debt, improve their credit, boost savings, and more. Ready to learn more about how C4C can impact your life? Contact us today at https://www.crusaders4change.org/!

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Music by: Lamonte Silver - Owner of essentialmusicclub.com | Previously by ROA - roa-music.com

Angela Byrd [00:00:02] :
You have to be careful who you pick as your executive, because some people will act like, you know, they pass and they, they want to be in control of everything. And so people don't get what they're supposed to get because they decide that, oh, no, that person is not getting anything. Although in the will is saying, no, it will go pass to my grandchildren. Your executor makes sure you get someone who's going to do the right thing.

Shay Cook [00:00:27] :
Exactly.

Shay Cook [00:00:29] :
Ever felt those awkward vibes? When religion, money come up, you're not alone. Welcome to Yahweh's Money, the podcast where we tackle the crossroads of faith and finance. I'm Shay Cook, an accredited financial counselor and the CEO and founder of Crusaders for Change, llc. Join us on our journey as we discuss topics like tithing, saving, and conquering debt through religious perspectives.

Shay Cook [00:00:54] :
Let's get started.

Shay Cook [00:00:57] :
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Yahweh's Money. I'm super excited to be here with one of my great, great friends. But before we get into introducing her, let's talk about legacy and ledger. Passing down faith and financial freedom to the next generation. That is our topic for today. So every financial lesson we learn, good or bad, started somewhere, often with our parents or even our ancestors. Their choices, struggles, and wisdom are the foundations of our relationship with money. Today, we're tracing the financial lineage.

Shay Cook [00:01:31] :
We'll be discussing the powerful, often unspoken financial lessons we inherited, and more importantly, how we can intentionally store that knowledge to create a godly financial legacy for our kids, our grandkids, and beyond. And it's about breaking generation cycles of debt. I know a lot of us suffer from debt. We have the fear, the shame. We want to plant those seeds of abundance and faith. So our main scripture for today is Proverbs 13:22: a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous. This verse is a beautiful reminder that true legacy isn't just a material inheritance.

Shay Cook [00:02:15] :
It's the wisdom and the principles that ensure prosperity for generations. Preparing the way for our children's children through diligent stewardship is an act of righteousness and a direct way to honor God's call to think long term. So now, the highlight of the episode. Mrs. Angela Byrd’s in the house. I met her back in my army days working at Walter Reed. She is amazing. She is a veteran.

Shay Cook [00:02:43] :
She's a mama. She is a grandmother. Oh, my gosh. She's a sister in Christ. She is a friend. She's a Daughter. She's a sister. She's just an amazing person.

Shay Cook [00:02:54] :
So I'm super excited to finally get her on my show here, the podcast. Hey, Angela.

Angela Byrd [00:03:00] :
Hi, Shay. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Hi, everyone.

Shay Cook [00:03:06] :
Tell us a little bit about yourself, Miss Jamaican Queen.

Angela Byrd [00:03:11] :
Oh, goodness. So I am originally from Kingston, Jamaica. I left when I was about seven. We moved to England, and then my mom was recruited as a nurse and came to America, and then I kind of went back to Jamaica on and off. I graduated from Florida Atlantic University with my bachelor's degree and a master's in human services from Capella University. I currently live between Jamaica and Florida. Right now I have two sons and two grandchildren, and it's just good to be here.

Shay Cook [00:03:44] :
Yay. Thank you. Yeah. It's been a long time we've known each other. I was trying to think back, like, 2009. Yeah. That seems like forever ago, especially since ‘25 is the longest year in history.

Angela Byrd [00:03:58] :
Oh, God, yes.

Shay Cook [00:03:59] :
And then you throw in a pandemic and 911 and all the other stuff that went on in between, or I guess 911 was before that. But I'm thinking of my daughter, and she was born in 2000. I just think about the kids that were born. You have a granddaughter, was born in 2000. Just a lot. Right. Was she born in ‘99 or 2000?

Angela Byrd [00:04:18] :
I think 2000.

Shay Cook [00:04:20] :
So it's just a lot that's happened in just those two decades. But then, you know, all the decades we've been alive, and as people say, since the 1900s, there's just been a lot going on. So let's get into our rapid fire questions.

Rapid Fire Questions Jingle [00:04:35] :
Take your seat. Let the wisdom inherit. Let's hit the rapid fire questions. Say, what's on your spirit? Take your seat. Let the wisdom inherit. Hit the rapid fire questions. Say, what's on your spirit?

Angela Byrd [00:04:59] :
I'm ready.

Shay Cook [00:05:00] :
All right. What is the single most important financial lesson you learned from your parents or your grandparents?

Angela Byrd [00:05:07] :
I would say both. My grandmother, she brought land, like, way back in the 50s, and so she kind of left it for us. And we still have a lot of land in Jamaica. And then my my mother and my father, it's not something they. They sat down and talked to us about, but they. The behavior that they modeled. Bills were always paid on time.

Angela Byrd [00:05:26] :
We never knew of any financial issues that we had in a family. My dad was an entrepreneur. He had his own barbershop, and my mother was a nurse. And they, We were like, middle class back in the 70s. Wow. I definitely, on a subconscious level, took a lot of how to be responsible financially from them.

Shay Cook [00:05:45] :
Oh, I love that. That's awesome. Entrepreneurship sounds like they were just. They had good work ethic.

Angela Byrd [00:05:51] :
Yes.

Shay Cook [00:05:52] :
That was awesome. All right. Was there a moment when you realized you needed to break a negative financial pattern that you inherited and what scripture guided you, if any?

Angela Byrd [00:06:02] :
I don't know if there was there's one. I just know that I try to do the right thing, but I try not to focus too much on money, because I know I always hear people say, you know, the love of money is the root of all evil. And so I want to make sure that God is first in my life before I think about anything else. And I think after that, everything kind of follows.

Shay Cook [00:06:24] :
That's really good. I know I was reading today in Romans, and it was talking about idolatry and how idolatry can not only be money, it can be goals. It could be things. Anything that you put above God is something you idolize. And so that love, money. It's not. Money is. We always got to clarify, like she said, it's the love of money.

Shay Cook [00:06:42] :
It's not money. Money's okay. It's a tool. Right. But when you start idolizing it and just wanting that above people and loving people and taking care of people, then we got a problem, y'. All. So that's good that it sounds like you always had that good moral background.

Angela Byrd [00:06:55] :
Yes, definitely.

Shay Cook [00:06:56] :
Awesome. All right, last question. If you could share one piece of financial wisdom with your younger self, no one would have been knowing it would benefit your grandchildren. What would it be?

Angela Byrd [00:07:06] :
Oh, my goodness. I would definitely saved a lot more. I would have taken more interest in financial classes and just things that I can do to leave that generational wealth for my children and for my grandchildren.

Shay Cook [00:07:19] :
I love that. Yeah, same here. I would have definitely saved more and not spent so much money on materialistic things, clothes and stuff. That is like, okay, I wanted to look a certain way, but you know what? But then I'm like, I'm glad I did do that because I learned, you know, that I don't need all of that stuff. And I become more of a minimalist as I get older. I don't buy as many things, but, I mean, I like nice vacations and stuff like that, but outside of that, and even that, I save for it. All right, awesome. Well, thank you so much.

Shay Cook [00:07:49] :
So, you know, there is a lot of stuff that happens in our life that's passed down from our ancestors, but today we're going to talk about it from the money perspective. So when we talk about, like, faith and legacy, really discussing the difference between material inheritance and a spiritual financial legacy. So like Angela is saying, you know, it would be nice if we were teaching our kids too. But also role model. I think that's the number one. Right. We are the true role models for our children. So how does faith compel us to think beyond our lifetime?

Angela Byrd [00:08:20] :
How do I think faith compels us?

Shay Cook [00:08:21] :
Yeah. Or it makes. We're not just thinking about, you know, what's going on in our lives right now in this moment, but as we pass on and transition, hopefully to heaven or wherever, you guys, they're listening and believe in. We're, you know, thinking about when we leave, we leave a legacy. We leave that with our children. So how do we. In this lifetime, how are you thinking about that? Leaving your legacy?

Angela Byrd [00:08:42] :
I have life insurance policies for them. I have property to pass on to them. And I am making sure that their name is on everything. Whether it's my account at Navy Federal, there's a POD on file, because I know there's a lot of people pass away and there's nothing on file, and the beneficiary cannot get what they need. So this, at this point, I'm making sure that they're even on my land title. So it would be easier just to transition everything over to them.

Shay Cook [00:09:12] :
Yeah. Instead of going through the state and all of that in the county. Yeah, definitely. And let's talk about that, because unfortunately you've gotten one of those things when people, they don't have insurance. And I just had it in my mind and I lost it. And they're. What. Do you know what I'm talking about, Angela?

Angela Byrd [00:09:29] :
When people, when they don't have insurance.

Shay Cook [00:09:32] :
And then they start reaching out to you for GoFundMe.

Angela Byrd [00:09:35] :
GoFundMe.

Shay Cook [00:09:36] :
And, you know, I know some people, it's just. I mean, I'm glad that they have a vehicle like that, that people can. A mechanism that people can get when they don't have insurance. But we are so undersured and especially in the black and brown community. Yeah, yeah, talk about that. Has your family always had insurance?

Angela Byrd [00:09:53] :
Definitely my mother and father. My mother right now, I swear, she has her paperwork all in order and she's like, when this happens, you go to the bank and you. You use this deposit key and you. You get the paperwork and you take it to here. So she has everything written out, instructions. And so now I find myself doing the same thing. Like everything is written out for my kids. Bank account numbers, PIN numbers, all that stuff is Written on a piece of paper and stored in a safe.

Angela Byrd [00:10:20] :
Gotcha. With all the other important paperwork that I have.

Shay Cook [00:10:23] :
Yeah. So how young? Cause, you know, we're older, you and I. So what were you thinking about this in your teens and your twenties and.

Angela Byrd [00:10:30] :
Of course not. No. As a matter of fact, it's funny you say that because, you know, my ex husband, he. He was always like that. Like, when I met him at 19, he wanted to know what was like, you know, CD. And he had all these books and stuff, and I used to be like, what is wrong with him? What. Why you talk about finance? I'm 18, but now I wish. I wish I had, because definitely I probably would have been further.

Angela Byrd [00:10:58] :
Not that I'm not. I'm happy where I am, but I would have known more sooner.

Shay Cook [00:11:03] :
Yeah. Nobody talked to me about insurance growing up.

Angela Byrd [00:11:05] :
No.

Shay Cook [00:11:06] :
You know, and only reason I know about the GoFundMes and people passing away and not having enough is because of social media, you know, and then, of course, we're getting older, so people are passing away. Unfortunately, you know, the older start getting old and start passing away because they're older or in my health issues or. Then now you're hearing a lot of, you know. Well, it's always been the young people, then the pandemic, going through that, and so many people not having insurance, so many people not having wills and doing the. All of the estate planning stuff. And so there was a lot of kids that was orphaned during the pandemic. So. But a plug here, y'.

Shay Cook [00:11:38] :
All. Y' all need to get your paperwork in order because tomorrow is not promised. Right?

Angela Byrd [00:11:43] :
I agree. I definitely agree. And I noticed my oldest son, he does the same thing that I'm doing now. The little one, he's getting there, but he's not. He's not there yet. But one thing I do know, he is very responsible, and he takes care of his wife and makes sure bills are paid. So it's like everything kind of trickled down to him. In the same way that my parents modeled the behavior, we modeled it for them and didn't even know that we were doing that.

Shay Cook [00:12:10] :
Wow. But now we can be intentional. Like you said, your mother is like, are doing. He's like, okay, you see your mom doing this? I'm doing it. Now my kids are going to start doing all my grandkids and pass it down because, you know, you can. You never know the age or never know the time or the day at a time when you're going to pass. Right. So you should get your stuff in order, and especially if you got kids, because you don't want just this crazy sibling to take care of your kid.

Shay Cook [00:12:32] :
You need to make sure guardianship is clear in your will. Did you always have a guardianship? I know you both were military, you and your ex and all that, you know.

Angela Byrd [00:12:39] :
No, no, we didn't. We didn't have a guardianship. And I think about that now. We. We never thought of that at that age. Because, you know, being so young and in the military, you're not thinking about that. You're just kind of thinking taking care of kids, deployments, being that military spouse is really hard. And so me trying to work and go to school at the same time, and.

Angela Byrd [00:13:02] :
Yeah, it was difficult.

Shay Cook [00:13:03] :
Oh, yeah. Wow, that's interesting. Cause usually when you're doing your deployment paperwork, you gotta have some kind of guardian, but if you. You know, you have a spouse and sometimes they let you pass that, but. Wow, that's interesting. Yeah. And I. But it's important.

Shay Cook [00:13:16] :
I know when I was. When we were in Germany, I think Alana was only like, five. We made sure. We sat down, got a will put down. I talked to my family, like, all right, who's a responsible family in the time. You know, at that time, they're no longer that person now.

Shay Cook [00:13:29] :
Just I'm not going to call out their name, But I was like, all right, this person can take care of my daughter if something happened to Nate and I. But, you know, thank God we all lived and we're good, you know, but we still. We got family members that still have kids under 18. So, you know, for y' all that have kids under 18, you should be planning for that. And if they are over 18, like Angela said, and her kids or grandkids are designated on a title and. And, you know, beneficiary on accounts and making sure where they can go and get this money. You know, hopefully she lives a lot longer and not to worry about it. And then they start building up their own assets.

Shay Cook [00:14:05] :
But still, I always worry about. And I know I'll be dead. Cause people like, well, you be dead, so who cares? Well, I don't want my family members fighting over my money and my assets. You know, I want to be very clear.

Angela Byrd [00:14:18] :
I can tell you I just had a funeral with my sister, and that's what's happening right now. Another thing is you have to be careful who you pick as your executive, because some people will act like, you know, they pass and they want to be in control of everything. And so people don't get what they're supposed to get because they decide that, oh no, that person is not getting anything. Although in the will it's saying, no, it will go past to my grandchildren. Your executor, make sure you get someone who's going to do the right thing.

Shay Cook [00:14:52] :
Exactly. That's just responsible, that has this. I would say I would even go a little step further because you know, you think you know, somebody, a sibling, a family member, spouse, a mom, a dad, but make sure their values align with your values.

Angela Byrd [00:15:04] :
Right.

Shay Cook [00:15:05] :
Because they could be responsible, but they could value this thing and you value this thing. And then when you die, your people will like, oh, I thought you were responsible. But they're like, but no, this is, I'm doing it the way I want to. Like, it's not about you, it's about the person that passed it on. So I know my parents made me executive, but they know my mom be like, you want this? Like, no, I'm going to give everything to my siblings. I'll take a little bit. There's some things my mama and I, you know, had conversations about, like, yeah, I'll get that. But I'm not going to sit here and hold up all my parents stuff, you know, and actually.

Shay Cook [00:15:35] :
And they got so many grandkids, I'm definitely going to spread their wealth. Right. But yeah, I think some people just don't even have their values or aligned. And then you get into my dad, I think he had the same. His brother passed. Unfortunately, he's lost two siblings and a father. And we've heard some things. It wasn't bad, but I've had people I work with in Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and they other jobs and they tell horror stories about stuff that's just held up because one, they didn't have a will or nobody did any state planning.

Shay Cook [00:16:04] :
And then two and three, no insurance and then four and five people just evil.

Angela Byrd [00:16:08] :
So, or another thing, the will is outdated. They may have the will, but the will from 1990. And so that's what happened recently. You know, the will was outdated. Yeah.

Shay Cook [00:16:21] :
Wow. Well, let's talk about some practical teaching for these younger generations that need it. Right? So simple, actionable ways to talk to grandchildren or children about money, tithing, debt, free living. I mean, you know, I told my daughter, she's like, you know, they'll see somebody driving a nice car or house. I'm like, that's on. I'm sure they ain't making that kind of money. I mean, you can just tell for some people and maybe they are. And we don't know.

Shay Cook [00:16:44] :
But credit has made it so easy for people to just have, quote, unquote, everything. So what do you tell your. Your kids and your grandkids about debt or credit or anything like that?

Angela Byrd [00:16:55] :
Like I said before, you know, we model that behavior. Like, we. We don't go into debt. We. We don't live beyond our means. I know my children, the spouses that they're married to, they're coming from a different background, so their ways of financial planning is. Is kind of different. So I feel like sometimes my boys are able to talk to them more about what is the right thing to do.

Angela Byrd [00:17:18] :
So the partner that you get also, they have to also know about financial planning.

Shay Cook [00:17:25] :
That partner is important because they can influence you one way or the other for the good or the bad. Right? You go in with a good mindset, you're like, all right, we're going to save. We're going to invest. We're going to have insurance. And they're like, I want to go on a cruise. I want to do this. I'm speaking from my experience, because I was that person in the beginning of my marriage. My husband got a big.

Shay Cook [00:17:43] :
And I tell this on a couple other episodes. I'm like, my husband got this big bonus when he reenlisted. And I was like, I want to go on a cruise. I want to do this. He's like, we got to buy furniture.

Shay Cook [00:17:53] :
I was like, so we did what he said, and I was so grateful because we went on a cruise years later. But he was right. We needed to put some money in savings. We need to make sure. Alana was right. We just moved from Germany to Omaha, so I was like, we ain't had no furniture, you know, so we had to buy a washer and dryer, you know, And a lot of people just be out here like, oh, I'm gonna get some shoes, get me some hair, give me some clothes. I'm like, but you ain't got no furniture in your house.

Angela Byrd [00:18:18] :
Oh. Oh, that. That's another thing. I remember my parents saying, you can't get a luxury vehicle and park it outside an apartment. Like, that was their thing. Like, if you're gonna drive the BMWs and the Mercedes, make sure you have a house first. I remember that was something the same.

Shay Cook [00:18:34] :
Way I bought my Audi. And even though I bought it, when we had a townhome, we had a garage, but it was sitting outside. And I used to feel a certain way of it's not being inside our garage. I'm Like I, you know, and so we eventually moved and put it in a garage. But it was just like, I was raised the same way because you walk in some neighborhoods and no disrespect to anybody out there that's living this way because I know there's people that are, you got the luxury vehicles and then you pulling up to this broke down home or it's on the streets or whatever, it's like, why would you want to do that? I know, but that's how we were raised. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but that's how we were raised. Angela.

Angela Byrd [00:19:11] :
Yeah, I know. Because not everybody's like, but, but I feel like if, if you buy the vehicle before you buy the house, then you know, that goes against your credit and then you might not be able to afford.

Shay Cook [00:19:25] :
And that's why people had. Don't buy houses and at all. Or. Yeah, we have clients that we help in Crusaders for Change. Shout out to Crusaders for Change. And they, they can't afford to buy a house because they credit is shot because they went and bought all those cars and they ain't even gotta be luxury vehicles. It could just be a Ford or, you know, anything. And I say Ford is not luxury.

Shay Cook [00:19:44] :
Oh my God, I am so bad right now. Because my husband love his Ford F150 Lightning. Okay, but. But it could be something that's not of a certain brand or a certain cost. Let me put it there. Because some like Fords can be really expensive too, but of a certain cost. And then you were like, like you said, like Angela's saying, I can't buy a house because. And then I, I can barely afford this.

Shay Cook [00:20:05] :
And you know, you know, so there's so many scenarios. Exactly. Yeah.

Angela Byrd [00:20:09] :
I mean, a house you can pass down, a car you can pass it down. But is it going to be worth anything? Because the minute you drive it off the lot, you know, it depreciates.

Shay Cook [00:20:19] :
Exactly.

Angela Byrd [00:20:20] :
Your house is always going to appreciate. Yeah. So those are the things you need to leave for your family. Like a house.

Shay Cook [00:20:25] :
Unless you live in a certain part of America and you're like, man, I don't know. But most of the times, majority of the times, the house is a great asset. Is it's still in its quoted often and many things I read that it is the number one asset for building wealth is real estate. And you know, a lot of us not there yet. So we can, we can help you. So. All right, let's talk about breaking cycles. So identifying, discussing how either biblical principles can stop the transmission of generational financial baggage like consumer debt or scarcity mindset.

Shay Cook [00:21:01] :
There's plenty of scriptures out there that helps you, like, really deal with this. I know. I'm listening to do a shout out to Zion Church Pastor Battle here in Maryland, D.C. area. And he's talking about the pathway to success. And he's talking about how, whether it's financial, whatever, he's got to start with your. With your spirit, with the Bible, you know, it's got to start somewhere that you believe in bigger than you, right? No matter what you really, you know, whatever you worship. Well, I'm not gonna say whatever you worship because you can worship many things, but from my standpoint, it starts with God.

Shay Cook [00:21:34] :
Okay, y'all.

Shay Cook [00:21:35] :
So how about you, Angela? Were you taught that growing up?

Angela Byrd [00:21:39] :
So once again, you know, my grandmother was very religious and so she definitely taught us about faith and having faith. But when it comes to the financial piece, she just wanted us to make sure we put God first. And then she said she felt like everything else would follow. Put God first. She didn't like beat the scriptures down on us. But she said as long as you put God first, you will always, always, always be okay.

Shay Cook [00:22:11] :
And are you a witness to that?

Angela Byrd [00:22:13] :
Yes.

Shay Cook [00:22:14] :
Yeah.

Angela Byrd [00:22:14] :
Oh, definitely.

Shay Cook [00:22:15] :
Yeah, definitely.

Angela Byrd [00:22:16] :
I mean, I pray for my friends and my family members because times are just so weird and so you never know what's going to happen. And so I find myself like my grand. My grandmother in Jamaica, she used to get up every morning at like 4:30 and pray for her entire family overseas in England, Canada, America. And then she would just pray. And I remember her crying and praying and because she was so afraid that we just all kind of left and went to like a different country and stuff. And so now I find myself doing the same thing, like waking up early and praying for my family members. That's all over because family don't live together like we used to.

Shay Cook [00:22:55] :
We don't back in the days. And that's intentional. And that's a whole nother episode, right, of talking about how they systematically broke us apart. So we, because, you know, we're stronger together is. And they know that we're living in. And you're right, because I'm like, man, when I go down to like Pocomoke, Maryland's near Salisbury and Ocean City, like, we got a lot of Talls still down there, but there's older Talls. Most of the younger generation moved. And that's.

Shay Cook [00:23:19] :
My dad's side of family moved away. But they have land, like you talk about land down There they got whole pieces of big. Lots of land named after them. My family's down there. And it's like all of the people disperse because for many different reasons, but when we're together, we build community, and we wouldn't be going through a lot of this crap we're going through in the world if we were in America. We were in, you know, strong communities like that.

Angela Byrd [00:23:43] :
Yep.

Shay Cook [00:23:43] :
So I agree. So your grandmother was onto something. And definitely, I say I feel the same way, praying for my friends and family all around this world, because, you know, God is listening. He's there for us. But people are really out here struggling.

Angela Byrd [00:23:56] :
Struggling.

Shay Cook [00:23:57] :
Yeah.

Angela Byrd [00:23:58] :
I feel like they can't hear God's voice because their struggle. And so when you talk to them, you know, about having faith and just, you know, believing and no matter what, like, I'm thankful for the good and the bad stuff that's happened because I wouldn't be who I am if I wasn't. If it was just good stuff that happened all the time, you know? And sometimes I feel like we go through stuff because God be like, oh, you forgot about me, and you forgot.

Shay Cook [00:24:23] :
About who's really in control here.

Angela Byrd [00:24:25] :
You forget about who's really in charge. Let me see where you're at with this.

Shay Cook [00:24:31] :
Yeah, exactly. That is so good. That is so good. And that's why I was like, that's great. The next segue to what we were going to talk about next is stewarding the story, right? How sharing our financial journey, both failures and successes, becomes the most powerful lesson we pass on. You know, we don't have to always share the good, you know, role model, the good. You need to show, you know, there's stuff going on in life, and it's hard. Like, I remember when I was going through a bunch of stuff at Coast Guard and how to file a.

Shay Cook [00:24:56] :
A bunch of EEO complaints and stuff. And one day I was talking to my friend's daughter, and she overheard it. And we were driving home. My friend. My daughter's friend's mother, we were driving home, and she says, I never knew you went through all of that. And I was like, oh, my God. My husband's like. And I told my husband, he's like, yeah, she needs to know the bad stuff, too.

Angela Byrd [00:25:14] :
Yeah.

Shay Cook [00:25:14] :
I'm sorry. Being black and woman in America ain't easy, okay?

Angela Byrd [00:25:18] :
It's not. It's not.

Shay Cook [00:25:19] :
And I'm raising a black woman. You're always fighting. And my daughter is, too. She's only 24, and she's having to Deal with stuff at work and it's school and it's like, man, she's like, it's always gonna be like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Unfortunately.

Angela Byrd [00:25:32] :
Unfortunately. I feel like we're always fighting for what should come to us naturally. You know, we're not asking for nothing more than what we're entitled to, you know, but it's always a fight for every single thing.

Shay Cook [00:25:46] :
But what I'm gonna say here is that meeting Angela back in 08 09, she always had that fight. She was always confident and just smart and intelligent and she still looks amazing all these years later. Hello, Melanin. But still, like, you just, you exude strong, black, successful woman.

Angela Byrd [00:26:08] :
Let me tell you. It came from. I remember when you and I first started working and you were a lot younger than me. I think you were barely 30.

Shay Cook [00:26:15] :
I wasn't even 30 yet.

Angela Byrd [00:26:16] :
It was a lot going on in that office. And I remember what this lady had told me. She said, no matter what, if you find you're working for a younger black woman, she said, no matter what you're going through, you take that woman and you take, like, take her under your wings and teach her not, you know, be like you're going against the grain or anything and always, always, always support her. And it's a good. I can't remember who told me that because it definitely happened. When I started working for you, I was like, oh my gosh, she's, she's so young. But I remember what that person told me and I was like, I can't, I can't give her a hard time. She told me that years later.

Shay Cook [00:26:55] :
But it was you, Troy and Anthony, you was like the dynamic trio that came in and would just give me like so much guidance. And you know, we had some other people in office that were just so defensive and rude and da, da, da, da. But then we had Angela, Troy and Anthony who just came in and just, you know, you would tell me like, nope, Shay, nope. And I'd be like, okay. And I remember going home, my husband like, no, they right, Shay. I'm like, ugh, you know, but guess what? Guess who I'm still in touch with. Angela, Troy, Anthony, you know, those three people, even though they were a lot older than me, maybe 10, 20 years older than me, they really were there to support their leader. But we became friends later and like family later because they like, yeah, because you guys have been there.

Shay Cook [00:27:44] :
Y'all have been to young ones working for older, older people working for you. So it just kind of flip flop. But I Just appreciate that to this day. It was like, the best army leadership training ever, like, on the job from.

Shay Cook [00:27:59] :
Because Angela was real, y'all.

Shay Cook [00:28:01] :
She was like, uh, Shay, we ain't doing that. Okay. And I'll be like, I still respected her because she was like my elder.

Angela Byrd [00:28:09] :
It's so funny because my other supervisor, Melissa, said the same thing. Melissa said I kept her on track.

Shay Cook [00:28:15] :
Like, you know, you had me prepared for this entrepreneur life, but also for just other jobs I went on to afterwards having that because, you know, and. But I've always been there. I've always worked with older black people that just respect. And I had a couple, like, only a small handful, maybe not even five. Maybe like a couple. But most of the black people that I worked with that were older were always there to have me under their wing. And I love that. They were always a mentor.

Shay Cook [00:28:41] :
They were always like, all right, girl, I'm gonna tell you like it is. I ain't sugarcoating it. But then I always were encouraging as well. So that's what we can do for our kids. Like, no matter what color race you are, it's like, you dare to encourage your kids to learn about finances, to have faith throughout their journey, Right?

Angela Byrd [00:28:59] :
Exactly, Exactly. I'm telling you, have faith is the number one thing. Because when. Sometimes when you think things are not going to work out, it works out just like that. And you know, that comes from just having faith.

Shay Cook [00:29:12] :
Yep. That faith and obedience. I keep on saying, all through this year, my two goals for this year was obedience and self care. God's like, you need to listen to me. And I'm like, okay, Lord. And sometimes it's hard, but honestly, after 40, almost 50 years on this earth, I'm like, all right, you know what? It's time to just listen. Like, don't even try to do it on my own.

Angela Byrd [00:29:32] :
Especially that obedience that. It's really hard sometimes to be obedient because you're looking at what it is, and you're like, no, this is the way it should go. But then you're hearing, no, you just need to sit still and everything will come together. And I mean, I try to do the same thing, definitely to be obedient.

Shay Cook [00:29:52] :
I love that. I love that. Well, you know, According to a 2023 study by the Federal Reserve, only 37%, y', all, 37% of U.S. adults have discussed estate planning with their family. Only a quarter of black, Hispanic and Asian Americans have a will or a living trust, highlighting a critical gap in planning for intergenerational wealth transfer. We have to get insurance, y'. All. I mean, as you get older, it gets a little more expensive, but as you're young, like, get that insurance.

Shay Cook [00:30:21] :
I got that Gerber life insurance for my daughter. Like, she. Before she was even born. I. We have. I have plenty of insurance. My husband and I, between us, like, you gotta have that insurance. So.

Shay Cook [00:30:30] :
Any final thoughts?

Angela Byrd [00:30:32] :
One thing I wanted to remind people, like, if they have land, they have to make sure that those taxes are paid. Like, yeah, don't assume that the taxes are paid because in the end, someone else will end up buying up that property.

Shay Cook [00:30:45] :
That is a great point. Yes. So, yeah, definitely see those land going up for auction or any selling. Estate sales. And it's like, what happened? They didn't pay the. I've heard that story too many times.

Angela Byrd [00:30:56] :
Exactly. And I feel like sometimes, like, the older, like our grandparents will have land that we don't really know about. And then before you know it, because the taxes are not being paid, that land is gone. So maybe if you're young, you can talk to your elders, see if anybody have any land, any taxes need to be paid. Work with them on that, you know, but definitely talk to your elders. Find out what it is that they have. Talk about estate planning, talk about wills. Find that one person that.

Angela Byrd [00:31:24] :
Cause there's always one in the family that's very. Financially.

Shay Cook [00:31:26] :
Exactly.

Angela Byrd [00:31:27] :
You know, or call Crusaders for Change.

Shay Cook [00:31:30] :
We're here to help you. Yes, we're not going to do the estate planning, but we're going to get your budget and all that in order. But we're going to point you in the right direction because like Angela said, if there's somebody you're usually. That is usually the number one place people goes for financial education, literacy is their family members. So that's a great point. And then as well, Internet, you know, Googling it or searching for it. And there's so many great.govedu resources out there that can help you and teach you around that.org as well. Exactly.

Shay Cook [00:31:57] :
Awesome. So, you know, our time on this earth gives us a sacred opportunity to shape not just our own finances, but the destiny of our descendants. Leaving a legacy of faith and financial freedom is one of the most powerful acts of stewardship we can perform. When we teach our grandchildren about the ledger and the Lord. Oh, I love that. The ledger and the Lord. We're answering the call to be a good person who leaves an inheritance to their children's children. So one way we can do this is by creating, like Angela said, a simple will updating our beneficiaries, designating a power of attorney.

Shay Cook [00:32:31] :
She said all of that in this episode. Okay. Because she's amazing. These are the three pillars to protect your loved ones and prevent confusion, especially during times of sadness. Yeah, because we don't want to be thinking about when we lose a loved one. We don't want to be thinking about all that. We need to make sure all that's in order and remember why DIY online services may suffice for the straightforward cases. Consult an attorney for complex situations to ensure your plan is comprehensive and legally sound.

Shay Cook [00:32:57] :
So lastly, I would ask that you commit to building your spiritual and financial legacy. So practical step is identifying one financial principle you learned from your ancestors. Write it down and commit to teaching it to a younger person in your family this week and or spend time in prayer asking God for wisdom on how to be a good steward of the resources you have now and how to use them to bless generations you may never meet. So, Angela, thank you again. That was amazing. I appreciate you, your amazing, beautiful soul. And so thank you for blessing our episode and everyone, we'll see you soon. Have a great day.

Angela Byrd [00:33:35] :
Bye everyone.

Shay Cook [00:33:37] :
A big thank you for listening to this episode. We hope you found today's chat about the intersection of religion and money insightful. We would love to hear your feedback. Hit that subscribe button or follow the

Shay Cook [00:33:50] :
Podcast and please feel free to leave us a review.

Shay Cook [00:33:53] :
For the latest Yahweh's Money content, visit us at Crusaders 4change.org or find us anywhere you listen to podcasts. Until next time, stay financially fit and spiritually inspired. And remember, it's always better Yahweh's way.

Head Shot

Shay Cook

Host
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Angela Byrd

Guest