Retirement & Righteousness: Preparing for the Future with Faith with Haneda Latese Garner

In this episode of Yahweh’s Money, we’re talking real faith, real planning, and real peace. 

I sit down with my lifelong friend, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Haneda Latese Garner, founder of HLG Resources and HG Travels, to talk about what it means to prepare for the future with faith as the foundation.

From serving in combat zones to launching her own consulting and travel companies, Latese shares the lessons she’s learned about stewardship, balance, and trusting God through every season. Together, we explore how spiritual growth and financial planning go hand in hand, and why retirement is not an end—but an evolution of purpose.

You’ll discover: 

• The Balance of Faith & Finances – How to trust God’s plan while saving diligently and making smart, spirit-led decisions.
• Investing in Yourself – Why spiritual rest, reflection, and self-care are just as vital as 401(k)s and real estate portfolios.
• From Military to Mission-Driven – How Latese transitioned from 20 years of Army service to entrepreneurship and community leadership.
• Overcoming Fear with Faith – Practical steps to replace financial anxiety with wisdom, prayer, and planning.
• Purpose Beyond the Paycheck – How redefining “work” opens the door to peace, growth, and God-aligned living.

Featured Scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11 — “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Action Step:

This week, take time to assess your next season. Review your finances, pray over your goals, and ask God to reveal one change you can make today to better prepare for tomorrow—with diligence, discipline, and divine trust.

Follow & Support Haneda Latese Garner:

Website: hlgresourcesllc.com

Website: hgtravels.com

Instagram: @HGTravels79

TikTok: @HelpingLeadersGrow 

💸⛪🕍📿💵

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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Comments, questions, or suggestions on topics? Email yahweh@crusaders4change.org

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

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Episode Theme
• 1:03 Introducing Guest Lt. Col. Gardner
• 6:12 Rapid Fire: Faith and Early Career
• 9:12 Scripture That Guides Planning
• 12:32 Practical Advice to Younger Self
• 18:25 Mid-Career Assessment and Growth
• 24:20 Investing Beyond Money: Self and Purpose
• 30:15 Balancing Faith, Community, and Saving

Transcript

Preparing for the Future with Faith with Haneda Latese Garner

Haneda Latese Garner [00:00:02]:
In investing in real estate and the stock market and buying and selling things. There's so much out there in the military or any type of class that you're going to be in, they're going to remind you of being careful of the shiny objects out there.
 
Shay Cook [00:00:20]:
Amen.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:00:20]:
I didn't go for all of the shiny objects. There's probably two times where a shiny object was presented in front of me and it was something nice, but I needed to wait.
 
Shay Cook [00:00:33]:
Ever felt those awkward vibes when religion and 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. Let's get started.
 
Shay Cook [00:01:03]:
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Yahweh's Money. Today we're about to talk about retirement and righteousness. Preparing for the future with faith. I'm so excited to have a dear, dear friend here. We'll get more into who she is to me and the world, but a new season of life awaits us all. But are we preparing for it with the same intention we give our careers and families? Retirement isn't just about having enough money. It's about stepping to a future that God has prepared with peace and purpose.
 
Shay Cook [00:01:38]:
Today we're exploring how to plan for our later years, even though her and I are not that old with fear. But with faith. We'll discuss the practical steps to prepare for retirement while trusting in God's ultimate provision. Our main scripture, Proverbs 21:5, is “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance. But everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty”. This verse is a beautiful reminder that God honors diligence and thoughtful planning. Preparing for retirement is an act of good stewardship, showing that we are faithfully managing the resources He has given us to ensure a future of abundance, not lack. So let's get into our guest here.
 
Shay Cook [00:02:30]:
Okay. Haneda Gardner, Lieutenant colonel, retired. Correct. From the Army. And she is way more to me than that, even though she has served our country amazing with honor. She is my dear friend, I think from seventh grade when we were in Augsburg, Germany. Oh my God. And I just love, love, love her.
 
Shay Cook [00:02:55]:
We've been friends forever, y'all, like 30 years. It's crazy. Actually, I think more than 30 years because I've almost been out of high school 30 years and two years, which is crazy. So we've been friends like 35, 40 years. It's crazy. So I'm so proud to have her on here. Hey, Latese.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:03:12]:
Good morning. Hey, Shay.
 
Shay Cook [00:03:15]:
Hey.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:03:16]:
How are you? I am great. I am great. I am so happy to be on your podcast because you so amazing.
 
Shay Cook [00:03:26]:
Oh, thank you.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:03:27]:
I don't do this often, so be around you and this. And this great mission that you have in this great ministry.
 
Shay Cook [00:03:35]:
I appreciate that. Yeah. So tell us more about you.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:03:39]:
I'm a military brat, born and raised in Alabama, but had the opportunity to move around and meet you and some other great friends and it's just been a blessing and that we have stayed in touch and a few more people, not as many, but a few more people. We have stayed in touch through our early 20s, in college and life. I am so happy that we have stayed in touch through the first career and second career or not career, but just transitions in life. And so this financial literacy is such an important topic that, you know, I know you've been passionate about it since before Crusaders for Change.
 
Shay Cook [00:04:25]:
Yep.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:04:25]:
Myself, I have taken your wisdom and small tips just in regular conversation from. From several years ago.
 
Shay Cook [00:04:34]:
Yeah.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:04:35]:
As we all have. I have learned some hard lessons with finances and I have also, I have done a few good things and so I'm proud of that. It's a challenge. We have to keep going and from one transition from the army to now semi retired, I'm just excited and nervous at the same time. I'm very happy to share whatever I can with your viewers and just continue our friendship outside of this.
 
Shay Cook [00:05:04]:
This is. This is fun.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:05:06]:
Thank you.
 
Shay Cook [00:05:07]:
Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you for being here and I'm just proud to have you as a friend and you've done so much even before the army, just being there when I needed things to call and, you know, just being a good sounding board. You're very wise and all your advice and you know, we just been there for each other since we were little girls. Now we grown, you know what women. So we're doing our things and I know God and our family is proud and we have a lot more work to do in this world. So excited to have you here today. All right, let's get into our rapid fire questions.
 
Rapid Fire Questions Jingle [00:05:45]:
Take your seat. Let the wisdom inherit. 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!
 
Shay Cook [00:06:13]:
So when you first started your career, what did you imagine retirement would look like for you? And how did your Faith influence that vision.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:06:21]:
So when I first started my career first, I imagined that I would retire from the army a little bit later. You know, we have these big goals and big dreams and we still do. But I imagine that I would be a little older and I imagine maybe my family life would be a little bit different and I would live somewhere else, somewhat of the traditional army lifestyle, that I would move back somewhere near, closer to family, around all of my brothers and sisters. So that's what I imagine and just really transitioning to another job or organization. I've always thought about having a business, but I really saw myself just working with other people still. I never thought that I would just be having my own business all the time because I like to be around people. So that's kind of what I first imagined. I would be a little bit older.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:07:25]:
But God's way is press his way.
 
Shay Cook [00:07:30]:
Amen.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:07:31]:
We can press one way, but God is going to keep putting us over, over, over, over in the plan that he has defined for us. So I ended up retiring from the military on a different timeline than I expected. But I am so happy that I made the decision. If there was any beats to be missed, I. I don't know where they at.
 
Shay Cook [00:07:55]:
There you go. Because God has a plan. You did what you had to do and now you in your next part of your life. So the next chapter. Next chapter. Awesome. Thank you. So was there a specific moment or scripture that shifted your perspective on preparing for the future?
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:08:12]:
Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular one for I know the plan that are for you. I should have had it up. But the bottom line, God's plan is not to harm you. That is the main takeaway from that scripture for me. Sometimes we get in a fearful state of mind that, oh no, this is. This is not what I want. This is going to cause some stress. God's plan is not to harm or hurt you, is to keep you going in that lane that he already prepared.
 
Shay Cook [00:08:52]:
For us, destined for you. Yep.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:08:55]:
That is definitely the main scripture.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:08:57]:
There's several others, but the one that's on my heart.
 
Shay Cook [00:09:01]:
Hey, and that's. That's good. And people need to hear that, especially in these times. Yeah. What is one piece of practical advice you wish you could give your younger self about saving for retirement? And I know, I have to say Latese was out here investing real estate, saving. I remember talking to her over the last 20 years plus during her career and telling me, and I'm like, man, I go back to my husband, I'd be like, Latese did this, we got to do this, let this. So she was always an influence. I don't even know if you knew that.
 
Shay Cook [00:09:29]:
So. But you have always been an influence to me on what it is to invest and save and all that. But what would you tell your younger self?
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:09:36]:
You know what I said at the beginning about I have learned some lessons. All right. I would tell my younger self yourself to not be discouraged. So sometimes if something is not going right, because in investing in real estate and the stock market and buying and selling things, there's so much out there in the military or any type of class that you're going to be in, they're going to remind you of being careful of the shiny objects out there.
 
Shay Cook [00:10:09]:
Amen.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:10:10]:
I didn't go for all of the shiny objects. There's probably two times where a shiny object was presented in front of me and it was something nice, but I needed to wait. And so, you know, I adjusted a few things when I should have or could have waited just a little bit longer, especially with the real estate, and just stick with it. My younger self, I kind of fluctuated with the amount. The advisors that I had in my life then, they were very heavy on retiring with a certain amount of money and doing it at a young age. But there has to be some balance. And this is going to sound crazy, but I will share this very personal. At one point, I felt like I was investing too much money and I wasn't living.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:11:00]:
So my advice would be to just start small. Start small. You hear that? Now I think, I think you say that in your one on one counselings. Start small with something and stick with it and don't, don't feel like you're not investing enough. And so that's what happened with me. I started small. I got an advisor and they're like, you can do so much more. And so I did more, but I felt like it was causing a strain.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:11:24]:
So start small and keep it going. Keep it going.
 
Shay Cook [00:11:28]:
I love that. Keep it going. Yeah, I love that. You're. And you're right. A lot of people are like, well, you know, I want to do this, I want to live. Right? But then I want to, I need to, I want to invest. So trying to find that balance.
 
Shay Cook [00:11:41]:
And when you're young, it's not like to me you were just normal. A lot of people go through the same journey that you went through from maturing, getting more wisdom, knowledge around finances. So, you know, we have to find what works for us because one person's Telling you one thing in one ear and another ear, and then in between there, you're like, okay, Lord, we need to figure this out. Cause this doesn't work for me. This doesn't work for me. This is where I need to be. And that's what age helps us get to that point where it works for us. Most of us, not all of us.
 
Shay Cook [00:12:11]:
All right, well, thank you for that. So let's get into our main discussion. Your personal journey, your story. You've already shared some of that investing, too much learning, you know, and having to find that balance. Let's talk about the challenges and blessings on the road to retirement. Even though you're semi retired now that you retired from the army and you're moving into a second career, I mean, what is some things, challenges or even blessings that you learned from the army, now you're gonna be like, all right, I learned this. This is what I wanna do in this chapter of my life.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:12:42]:
In your opening, you talked about that one scripture with diligent and thoughtful preparation. Well, that's what I have in my mind. Don't discount the diligent and thoughtful preparation. My story was that, yeah, first 10 years, I made a conscientious choice at the. It was probably the 11 year mark. I said, ooh, that's when I had a time to breathe. We had a lot of deployments in my first 10 years in the army. As folks who are my same age and came in the army in the ‘99, 2000 up to 2002, we went straight into combat zones.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:13:24]:
So one thing that we all went through was different things happening to our income. We're deployed, we have this type of income coming in. Then we move, we have this type of incoming income in our bank accounts. And so there's changes going on. So back to being diligent, I would say for me, at the 10 year of the 11 year mark, well, I completed an assessment and one of those assessments. Ten years is a lot of time where you can look and see some changes. You can actually look back and say, oh, oh, I did that. I did that.
 

Haneda Latese Garner [00:14:01]:
You know, that's when I saw that I was doing too much, kind of moving around and I wasn't steady enough. I made a decision then that I needed my next 10 years to look very different from my last 10 years. And that was a spiritual moment. Not just about finances. It was about lifestyle. It was about, you know, my communication. It was about. It was just about everything.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:14:26]:
Everything about me. I realized there has to be some growth. Not saying I Wasn't. I wasn't growing. But there were some things that I wanted to do in the first 10 years I didn't accomplish because I was kind of distracted. And so I personally, I made a few decisions that. That I felt like really changed the trajectory of my life. And so I would share that.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:14:51]:
Doing an assessment, getting quiet with God, making the hard decisions on financial purchases, on the investments, or, you know, just the things. We get caught up in the things. And so, you know, every now and then we have to assess, what are these things? Do I really need them? I thought that I was going to maybe be married in a certain amount of time, but that didn't work out. So it was okay. I was okay. But I still had to prepare to take care of me and the things that were important to me. And so I would say that I had a time where I did an assessment and I was in prayer. It was probably around the time when I was leaving Fort Campbell, going to Fort Stewart out of one of those, in the army, we.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:15:47]:
We learned some things when you in a hard leadership job. So I want to say that was company command. And then I left Campbell. I went straight to another job that was overseas. We went back to Iraq. The way God works things out with transition sometime and learning that you have a new team. You know, one thing that I pray for, and I know that my parents have prayed for me, that God put people around me that have my best interest at heart. And so that includes the finances, too.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:16:24]:
Because if I'm saying, hey, Shay, let's go out every weekend and eat lobster, let's go to lunch Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There's nothing wrong with lobster. But also, Shay, we need all of these purses and we need all of these shoes and we need to get a new car. No, I'm being.
 
 Shay Cook [00:16:46]:
 Every year. Every other year. Yeah.
 
 Haneda Latese Garner [00:16:50]:
 You can live doing the wrong things with any type of money.
 
 Shay Cook [00:16:53]:
 Any.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:16:53]:
You know, you buying too much candy. You know, you say that to young kids. Give them $10. Now, don't spend all your money on all that candy, because there's some people buy a book with $10. So that happened with me. I started to. Outside of real estate, you know, I started to invest in some other things. Investing in myself.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:17:15]:
Investing in a vacation, you know, I like. I like vacation. I like.
 
Shay Cook [00:17:22]:
You do. And she has a travel company, which we're going to talk about, too. Yes.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:17:27]:
And so you got to plan, you got to be diligent and thoughtfully prepare for what type of rest you want to have in life. The rest in your home. So I would say doing an assessment of our life and then going for the changes. You know, it was easy to do something popular. My first duty station was in Germany. I came back, everybody was all, ooh, first time home buyers. Because we're like in our 20s. And so I was okay with that.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:18:00]:
What else after that? What do we really need? We all need somewhere to live. But some of those other things that surround us that are really not necessities, we have to use some, some wisdom in whether or not that is something we personally need in our life to execute what our mission is for our job. But why are we here for Yahweh's money? For what God has put us in. Tithing that's important to you? You know, people, we could get in a big discussion about tithing, Discussion, debate, you know, knock down, drag out argument about tithing and giving. How much should you do it at all? So that 10 year mark, I said I want my next 10 to be better or be more focused and in line with God, way more than my last 10. And we could do that with any number next year, next week.
 
Shay Cook [00:19:02]:
What sticks out from all of that is learning to invest in yourself. Yes, you know, we have our 401ks, 403tsps, you know, IRAs, all the different tools and mechanisms to, you know, invest our money for retirement. But what about outside of that? What about the investing in yourself, investing in your family, investing in your community, investing in the, if you serve God, what he is, put on, what he wants us to do, and spreading the word and bringing more people to Christ, how are you investing in that in your times, if you do and when you finally retire, y' all like, what does that look like? Yes, you need to have the money piece. Yes. But to me, that's a small piece because there is so much more to that. Because how are you going to live? And that's why they say a lot of people die after retirement. Once they retire fully, whatever is their 50s, 60s, 70, 80s. A lot of time people just go home and die.
 
Shay Cook [00:19:56]:
Like my mother in law and I talk about that, she's like, what am I going to do after I retire? I want to just sit at home and die, you know, so you got to have a plan to invest in yourself and whatever your values are, whatever you value with purpose and passion in your life. So I would say that's something that we don't talk about enough. And we need to have that connection with a higher power to ensure and understand what that Next step is.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:20:20]:
Totally agree. Thank you, Shay.
 
Shay Cook [00:20:22]:
Yeah. No, well, you started that. Invest in yourself is very important. So how do we balance trusting God's provision with diligent saving in retirement? Right. Like I would say for me is staying in the words. You know, going or listening to church, listening to spiritual leaders, being around people that. That are at your level or higher. To me, that's always been important.
 
Shay Cook [00:20:43]:
I want somebody that I can look up to to give me guidance. Spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, relationships, all of that. Like, that is all a part of that. And so, you know, that faith and planning, it goes hand in hand. And a lot of people are just all about plan, plan, plan, plan, plan. But where is the faith? Where is God in that? So how have you throughout your. This past career, and how are you going to make sure you have God in that and saving and retiring and whatever that looks like?
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:21:11]:
So I'm blessed to where I have a little bit of flexibility. I actually have a faith community here. So like I said, my initial plans were, you know, I'm going to move, I'm going to go back here, but God worked it out where I'm staying here in the Virginia area. And so I'm finding that my time is being spent more in the faith community. I have a small group at the church that I attend. In that small group, someone asked me to do something. I was like, oh, I don't know about leadership in the small group at the church. I don't know.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:21:51]:
But I said, yeah, I can do a lot of things right. So if I'm the secretary in one organization, why can't I work on something at church? Which I come from a family. Educators and preachers and teachers, Sunday school teachers. There you go. Or just people. My family, most of us are rooted in some type of support to our church home. And so I was like, sure, I believe if. If God brings something to you and there's no reason to.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:22:24]:
To not accept it. So I enjoyed that. I was attending that church before I retired. And so one of the prayers was like, lord, it's with any transition, you know, whatever is not like you. Let's leave it back in the army days, you know, let's leave it in that last career. But what's for me in the future, I want to receive it. And so over the past three years. So in November of 2022, I retired.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:22:54]:
So we're coming up on three years.
 
Shay Cook [00:22:56]:
Oh, wow.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:22:57]:
Most folks know if you spend over 20 years in the army, you shouldn't think everything's going to just change and be the way you want it. The first year, it really can take two to four, three to five years to get a new norm. And so I like the church home where, you know, I joined the church here in Virginia probably 2020. So I'm still here in the area, found some employment, I stayed here. Still have a lot of the same friends from the army, active duty. My retirement crew, we all retired in ‘22 and ‘23. That's a whole different conversation and we talking about some of the same things. And my church crew, nice.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:23:37]:
We have faith filled discussions and we support each other. So I would say that if faith is important to you, you gotta feed that faith. You know, we got kids. Well, I don't have kids, but we got our children in the community and our families that these, they have become these all star athletes. You tell them they gotta practice and they're doing extracurricular activities. I have a cousin nephew, like my cousin's children that are old enough to be my nieces and nephews, I call them cousin nephews. They are so talented. And so we instill in them, the parents instill in them, you gotta practice, you gotta go to bed, you gotta eat right.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:24:23]:
So we have to do that so that we can have our best faith life.
 
Shay Cook [00:24:27]:
Amen.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:24:28]:
We gotta get up, gotta move around. We gotta be available to hear what God has to tell us. I'm talking to myself. I gotta get up early earlier.
 
 Shay Cook [00:24:39]:
 Exactly. Me too. No, that's good. So, yeah, I always tell people, in order to make a change in any part of your life, you need to have discipline, self control. And you have to be. And there's gonna be some sacrifice. And so that's in money, that's in sports, that's athletics, that's in a career and job, that's just in life. Like, you gotta have those things, those things to come together.
 
Shay Cook [00:25:01]:
And to me, the first is God, right? So having that. Now, how do we navigate fear? And you know, because people, this is a crazy time going on in 2025 with a lot of things. And some people are like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to retire. Or some people took the buyout, some people did this, did that. Like, what are we, what are you saying to those people that are in that fear mindset?
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:25:23]:
God is not you. A spirit of fear that saw has been in my head. No, no, on a serious note, you know, on the technical note, this is your area of expertise. Know your numbers. I mean, there are some guidance that I got from my grandmother, years and years ago, make sure you got enough money. When you go somewhere that's deeper than just going to the store. If you're trying to go somewhere else in life, make sure you have enough money, you know, and then start making the adjustments. You know, I would tell people, you know, don't be fearful, but be strong.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:26:12]:
Be strong in your faith of what you want to do and make adjustments. If you're a friend of mine, you may know that I have said, you got to do something different. I say that a lot. I didn't realize how much I said it until a friend of mine told me and said, oh, I guess you got to do something different. Well, yeah, yeah, we got to do something different.
 
Shay Cook [00:26:36]:
Exactly.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:26:37]:
God is saying, go. And your money is saying, where or how, you know, you might have to do something different.
 
Shay Cook [00:26:46]:
Exactly, exactly.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:26:48]:
Don't be fearful, you know, get a plan. We all know God don't work overnight.
 
Shay Cook [00:26:53]:
Exactly.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:26:56]:
For me, with that fear, I have to realize, oh, slow it down, Haneda, slow it down. Latese, where. Where are you trying to go? What you doing? Too many things at once. Sit down somewhere and. And get to planning. If God is telling you to do something, he gonna make a way. Do your part and he gonna do his part.
 
Shay Cook [00:27:19]:
Amen.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:27:20]:
That's all I got.
 
Shay Cook [00:27:22]:
No, that's good. You're right. I mean, we gotta navigate this fear and we can navigate that with God.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:27:27]:
Yeah, do something different. You gotta do something different.
 
Shay Cook [00:27:31]:
No, that's good. That's good. And the last thing I would say to all this conversation is like, really having purpose beyond the career like we were talking about. Some people, they, after they retired, are like, what's next? They, you know, and there's a high, I don't know the percentage of a lot of people that just. Just fizz away, just go away to die, you know? So preparing spiritually and mentally for a meaningful life after work, what does life look like for you? So say in another 20 years from now? I don't know, what's your goal? Retiring? 55, 60, 65, maybe never. Everybody has a different age. What does that look like for you? Preparing spiritually and mentally after you're like, I'm finally done with work.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:28:07]:
I'm changing the definition of work. Right. As much as I, you know, I'm running the numbers. I have all these plans. So I have one plan. That plan is to achieve my retirement by 55. And the things around, the things that I want to do, we have to do the things we need to do. And have to do to get to the place where all we can do is what we want to do right now.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:28:36]:
You know, I think I'm on another 10 year plan, but my goal is 55, 56 is to be fully retired. Well, Spotlight. You know, I started helping leaders. Well, I started HLG Resources.
 
Shay Cook [00:28:51]:
Yes, you did.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:28:52]:
It's a consulting company. And I'm still preparing to start helping leaders grow nonprofit organization. Because growth has become my focus point. We're growing, we're getting older, but I got to get rid of that word older. We're growing and we got to grow, you know, in all areas. So whenever me and you talk, we talk about growth and you know, you tell me what's going on in the financial world and making decisions comes from positive growth. And so I'm just all about what, what I can do to. Of course we gotta grow some numbers.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:29:30]:
We, we need money. So let's be real. We, we have to have money to do certain stuff. So I have to figure out what that is. You and I have talked about the retreats. I'm really getting into growing in our wellness, growing in our mental and how travel can assist that or how vacationing can assist with that. So it's not all about spending all the money of Disney or fun things. Yes, but are you investing in the places and things that's going to help you grow when you're resting? You know, we can do some type of rest more than once a year.
 

Haneda Latese Garner [00:30:11]:
So as people say, the vacation. But that's what I'm focused on. I'm focusing on investing in things will help me grow in the next 10 years.
 
Shay Cook [00:30:24]:
No, I love that right now, you.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:30:26]:
Know, With helping leaders grow. As I, as I get that organized, that's my work, helping leaders grow. And HLG Resources is, you know, that's the consulting business. I'm hoping there's a leader in everybody that I work with because it's not just for people who, who are in leadership position. I've coached a few people. They're 25 years old. They might not consider themselves a leader, but they're looking for growth. And so that's.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:30:55]:
I just want to focus on growth, Shay.
 
Shay Cook [00:30:58]:
Yeah, no, I love that. Yeah. And that's meaningful work. And so you can continue that even though if you retire at 55, you can still do that, you know, through many different avenues. So I love that. And you can continue that to grow and you can just sit back and let that grow. And God's going to bless. I know.
 
Shay Cook [00:31:14]:
So thank you so much. Oh, man, this was amazing. I have to share this stat here because this is crazy. According to the National Council on Aging, 20% of Americans age 60 and older, that's 15 million households have zero assets. In fact, and let me. And before I get into the second half of that, actually, for black homes households, that number is negative. Let's be real. So in fact, many are in debt, trying to survive on a medium income of just $18,000 per year.
 
Shay Cook [00:31:45]:
So we got a long to go, y’all. But you know what? God got us, right? He really does. So preparing for retirement is more than a financial strategy. It's an act of faith. It's about stewarding our resources wisely today so that we can live generously and securing in the season God has planned for us tomorrow. True righteousness in retirement is found in the peace of knowing you did your part while also trusting God with all the rest. So this was amazing.
 
Shay Cook [00:32:14]:
Latese, any final thoughts? You already shot out HLG Resources. What about HD Travel? I mean, you got a lot of things going on. This girl is amazing.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:32:24]:
Oh, Shady. Thank you. So HD Travels is we’re in October. HD Travels is going to have a new look.
 
Shay Cook [00:32:34]:
Okay.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:32:34]:
There's some background changes going on in the back of the website, but I'm gonna offer some different things regarding travel. I'm still gonna be off in coordination services for milestone events, weddings, birthdays. So, you know, just be on the lookout. Hoping to get into some type of wellness retreat at a nice place at a beach. That's one of my big goals with HG Travels is a retreat somewhere in the next year. So. But other than that, that's it. I'm just trying to get into this entrepreneurship thing.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:33:12]:
It's not for the weak.
 
Shay Cook [00:33:13]:
It is not for the weak, but God got you and I got you. Crusaders for Change is going to be here helping you with the retreat and everything beyond that. So how can people follow you?
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:33:23]:

They can follow me at HG Travels 79 on my IG. I'm HG Latice on Facebook. If you would like to sign up, you know, just to get updates and things, you can go to hlgresources llc.com I can help you with travel on there, but I can also help you with transition services. Back to my kind of government acquisition management tasks, proposal reviews and things like that. So hlgresourcesllc.com and hgtravels.com thanks, Shay.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:01]:
Awesome. Awesome. Thank you. No, I appreciate your time today, y'. All. You know I want to ask you to take two steps toward a righteous retirement. First, assess your current finances. Set clear retirement goals and steadily build toward them.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:16]:
Like Latese was saying, slow, steady balance what works for you. And then spend time in prayer asking God for wisdom and peace over your financial future. And remember, he who called you is faithful and he will do it. So thank you for joining us today. Thank you Latese.
 
Haneda Latese Garner [00:34:32]:
You're amazing. Love you. Love you too.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:36]:
Everyone have a good day and we'll talk to you soon.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:41]:
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 podcast.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:54]:
And please feel free to leave us a review.
 
Shay Cook [00:34:57]:
For the latest Yahweh's Money content, visit us at crusaders4change.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.