Do you know your money? Do you feel financially empowered — or stressed every time you look at your bank account? What about having those conversations about money and feeling more comfortable having them. This is why I started my Your Financial Maven® podcast. Read on to get to know the podcast and your Host and Producer Samantha M. Besnoff, CPA.
Why “Maven”?
The word Maven comes from my roots. It is a Yiddish word (meyvn), which means “expert,” “connoisseur,” or “someone who understands”. That word fits me because I don’t just want to do your taxes or reconcile your books in the background — I want you to actually understand your money. The “why” behind the numbers. The story your spending tells. The patterns you inherited without realizing it. I genuinely love sharing what I know.
Financial empowerment isn’t about becoming a finance expert or memorizing tax code. It’s about feeling steady when you open your bank app. It’s about knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out, and why you make the choices you do without shame, but with grace.
What This Podcast Is About
Your Financial Maven® is built around one core idea: “We need to change the way we think about money.”
That means looking at the full picture — not just the spreadsheet side, but the psychological side too. So much of how we spend, save, hide, and stress about money comes from our upbringing and lived experience. The household you grew up in. The first time someone made you feel small about money. The lessons nobody actually sat you down and explained.
The show covers:
The mindset side — money stories, money shame, the psychology behind our financial decisions
The practical side — budgeting, taxes, financial education for real life
Conversations with guests — financial planners, entrepreneurs, coaches, and people with money stories worth hearing
Solo mini-sodes — just me, talking through a topic you’ve been wondering about
Some episodes are deeply personal. Some are technical. All of them are designed to leave you a little more confident about your money than you were before you pressed play.
A Little About Me
I’m a CPA who has worked in just about every corner of the accounting world — public accounting, corporate, nonprofit, government, and now my own practice. I’ve spent more than 30 years watching people’s relationships with money up close, and I’ve learned that the technical answer is almost never the whole answer.
I work with individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits, and I focus heavily on financial education. The podcast is an extension of that work — a way to reach people who may never sit across from a CPA, but who deserve the same clarity and care. And I am not all about work too. I have a family and friends that have been so supportive of this journey. It has been a true blessing. Learn more
What You’ll Get from Listening
If you stick around, you’ll come away with:
• Permission to talk about money without shame
• A clearer sense of where your own money beliefs come from
• Practical knowledge you can actually use
• Real stories from people who’ve navigated their own financial chapters
• The reminder that you are absolutely capable of getting this
Welcome to the Your Financial Maven® Podcast. I’m so glad you’re here.
The Your Financial Maven® Podcast is a 2x w3 Gold Award Winning Podcast
