Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha (Sam) Neumann.
Hi Samantha (Sam), we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I spent most of my life in rural northern Minnesota and was one of those kids who had no idea about what I wanted to do when I grew up. Despite this, when I had the opportunity to attend college in Duluth as a junior in high school, I jumped at it.
After a year of commuting over an hour to campus, I moved out of my parents’ house at the beginning of senior year. At 17, I was juggling full-time work as an assistant manager at Subway while finishing high school and earning my two-year degree.
By graduation, I was burnt out and ready for a change. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I applied for a handful of jobs that could pay the bills while I figured it out. One of those applications led me to a part-time teller position at Northern Communities Credit Union – a decision that I still look back on and wonder if it was a coincidence or fate.
Very quickly, I realized how little I knew about money. I had been living on my own for a year at this point, but fundamental personal finance topics – like budgeting or building credit – were foreign to me. I started soaking up everything I could learn within my position.
At 19 years old, I bought my first home – A milestone that wouldn’t have been possible without the financial education I had received through my job. That experience sparked the passion that still drives me today: making financial education accessible to everyone.
At 20 (and still at NCCYou), I transitioned into lending, where I joined a committee tasked with rebranding our credit card products for young adults. We ended up creating an entire credit builder program, ingraining financial education throughout the lending process and incorporating not only the credit card, but two other credit builder loans as well. It was important to us to not only offer affordable lending options for people with no or low credit scores, but also to provide an opportunity to learn.
This is how our financial education program was born – and it took off faster than we imagined. Teachers and nonprofits began inviting us into classrooms to speak, and soon, it became clear that financial education needed to be someone’s full-time role. In 2023, that someone became me.
Today, as NCCYou’s Financial Education Specialist, I help lead a program that reaches thousands of people every year through community presentations, counseling, credit builder loans, online courses and more – all offered for free through the credit union.
Beyond NCCYou, I serve on the board for the Credit Union Financial Education Network (CUFEN), where I help advocate for financial education across the country and connect other educators to resources that help make a difference. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with the MN Council for Economic Education, helping teachers as they navigate the new personal finance graduation requirement. In my personal time, I’m currently working on developing an app that helps students connect the lessons they’re learning in the classroom to real-world money management.
Each of these opportunities have deepened my sense of purpose. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up – but I now know that I’m exactly where I need to be: helping people build confidence, stability, and hope through financial education.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been plenty of struggles along the way – both personal and professional.
When I first started out, I battled a lot of self-doubt. I was young, working in an industry I didn’t fully understand, and often felt like I was learning everything the hard way. There were times I felt completely out of my depth, trying to figure out adult responsibilities while guiding others through theirs.
Burnout was another big challenge early on. Between work, school, and trying to build a future for myself, I didn’t know what balance looked like. I thought success meant constantly pushing forward – until I realized that growth also comes from slowing down, asking for help, and giving yourself grace.
Professionally, one of the hardest parts has been challenging the way people see financial education. Money can be a sensitive, even intimidating topic, and one of the biggest challenges is offering information in a way that’s empowering rather than overwhelming.
Each struggle has taught me something – how to listen more deeply, communicate more clearly, and lead with compassion. And now, when I teach or counsel others, I can meet them exactly where they are, because I’ve been there too.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a financial education specialist, I work with people to provide education and resources that empower them to reach their financial goals. I offer goal-based financial counseling, and I partner with schools, nonprofits, and community organizations to deliver presentations that make financial education engaging and accessible to all.
There are many things I’m proud of – our program receiving various national awards, being featured on a book, owning multiple properties – but more than anything, I take the most pride in helping people realize that no matter their situation or income level, they can succeed too. I don’t do what I do for recognition; I do it because I’ve seen and felt the difference financial education can have.
In a world that promotes the message that “You’ll never be able to buy a home” or “You’ll never retire”, I want to provide hope that any goal can indeed be achieved. As someone close to me once said: “The sky is the limit; you just need to define what that looks like.”
One of the greatest gifts of my work is that I get to live what I teach. Applying these lessons in my own life has opened doors to incredible opportunities, like purchasing land on a lake – something that I never thought possible before I started. Some people think of budgeting as restrictive, but through living what I teach, I’ve found the opposite to be true: by knowing what you value most, you’re able to find a balance between security and a comfortable lifestyle.
What sets me apart is my genuine belief that everyone deserves the tools and knowledge to succeed financially, regardless of where they start. I’ve seen firsthand how transformative it can be when someone finally feels seen, heard, and supported in their financial journey – and that’s the heart of everything I do.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Especially in my younger years, I was very outgoing and social. Whether it was with friends or family, most of the people in my life always say that I “never ran out of things to talk about”. I loved spending time outdoors, ideally swimming in a lake or going on camping adventures. I stayed out of trouble for the most part – although very independent, I tended to have a “do first, ask later” mentality. Looking back on my childhood, this is definitely why my mom always said that I was the reason her hair turned gray!
Despite being social, I have always felt slightly out of place from my peers. A creative imagination with an entrepreneurial spirit, I started finding ways to make money from an early age. Lemonade stands, selling crafts, filing for the airport, making wreaths; while I had never thought about finance as a career opportunity, I do find it quite fitting that I ended up discovering a passion for teaching people about money. Primarily a saver, most of what I actually spent was on friends – we’d often walk to the local Dairy Queen, where I’d buy us ice cream.
Traveling was another thing I loved to do. By the time I was a teenager, I had saved enough money to pay for the costs associated with participating in a foreign exchange program and was able to spend 2 months in Germany – something that my family would not have been able to afford otherwise. That trip changed how I saw the world and deepened my appreciation for culture, history, and connection.
Always curious and eager to learn more about, well, everything, I was often told that I had an “old soul”. I was an avid reader and often went out of my way to learn as much as I could about various topics that caught my eye. History in particular fascinated me. With captivating stories from different time periods around the world, I think this early curiosity about people’s stories is part of what led me to the work I do today.
Pricing:
- Free Financial Counseling, Presentations, and Online Personal Finance Portal!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Nccyou.com/FLi
- Instagram: FLi_NCCYou
- Other: https://www.moneyedu.org/public/welcome.cfm?code=NCCYou
