People of EarnIn: Samantha Nang

Three years ago, Samantha took a chance and moved across the country to Vegas with her boyfriend. She struggled at first but eventually found success with her new job. Her next financial goal is to buy a home. Here’s her story:

“I moved out to Las Vegas over three years ago for a job opportunity. My boyfriend actually ended up coming out to Vegas with me and it was hard for sure. I had some savings but not a whole lot saved up. My boyfriend was a bartender in Philadelphia and I was like, “Would you be willing to take a risk?” and he said yes thinking it wouldn't be hard for him to find work. So we moved out here, packed everything in my Hyundai Veloster and we drove cross country. I had already leased out an apartment and everything but it was hard because I didn't understand my value at the time, salary wise. I was so underpaid in Philly that when I got my new offer, it didn't really meet my years of experience. I learned that really fast and not having the experience of supporting an extra mouth, it was hard. That's where EarnIn came into play. It took like almost two years before my boyfriend found a job that he could stick with. It was literally me holding the fort down, feeding us and trying to live off of a salary that is really just for one person.

I eventually left because I realized I needed to do something else. One thing led to another, and there was a startup that was looking for an artist and that's how I got into the skill based gaming side of things. It's a company that’s paying me what I'm worth and they even promoted me within three months of me being there. It was like a weight off my chest, not having to be stressed out about not having money. We can eat, we can eat like normal people. The first couple of years, there were things I couldn’t buy that I wanted to eat, but I just couldn’t afford to put them in my grocery list.

I really didn't think about my finances initially. I kind of went a little credit card crazy in the beginning, back when I was in Philadelphia. I didn't have a plan. I didn't have a goal. During that time, my career was in such limbo, that there wasn't much excitement or progress there. After getting the job I have now, I started making more money which allowed me to pay off any excess debt I had and actually save up for a home next year. So that's a new goal for me. I'm so super proud of myself that it could happen that, you know, getting a house next year. It's definitely possible.”

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