Matt Sapaula Earns Distinction as 2026 Financial Education Instructor of the Year
The prestigious Financial Education Instructor of the Year (FEIY) Award for 2026 was awarded to Matt Sapaula, financial educator and motivational speaker often called “The MoneySMART Guy.”
The NFEC established the FEIY Award in 2014 in response to a substantial evidence base showing that educators have the single most significant influence on people’s financial wellness. The award recognizes a single educator who has made an extraordinary impact in the financial education arena over the previous year. Three award criteria are applied to select this distinguished individual: education, awareness, and sustainability.
Matt Sapaula represents the type of financial educator the FEIY Award was created to recognize: someone who has turned personal experience, professional discipline, and a long-term commitment to financial education into a broad movement that reaches individuals, families, entrepreneurs, veterans, faith-based communities, and the underserved.
History & Background
Matt Sapaula is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who entered the financial services industry in 1999 after serving 8 years in active duty. His early path was shaped by challenge, discipline, and transition. Like many veterans and working families, he experienced firsthand the gap between earning income and truly understanding how money works. Those early financial and professional lessons became part of the foundation for his future work as a financial educator, coach, speaker, entrepreneur, and advocate.
In the mid-2000s, Sapaula became involved with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s MoneySMART Week initiative, where he taught free financial literacy classes and began developing the public identity that would earn him the nickname “The MoneySMART Guy.” That experience helped move his work beyond financial services and into broader public education. Over time, he built a recognizable educational brand centered on faith, family, finance, entrepreneurship, and personal responsibility.
Education
The NFEC seeks to recognize financial educators who have a passion for improving financial capabilities among the people they serve. Their instruction should motivate, engage, educate, and move participants to take positive action. The FEIY Award is designed for educators who not only improve knowledge, but also influence long-term financial behavior, mindset, and decision-making.
Sapaula’s educational work aligns strongly with that standard. Following are some examples of his efforts:
Education Events
In the last 12 months, Sapaula conducted more than 200 financial education-related events, trainings, workshops, webinars, and public-facing learning experiences. That included financial education events, business-building sessions, leadership trainings, and public presentations focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, credit, income, protection, and long-term wealth-building concepts.
His education work has included service as an instructor for DePaul University’s Continuing Education program, participation in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s MoneySMART Week initiative, community-based workshops, financial freedom events, lunch-and-learn programs, workplace education, youth-focused programming, and online master classes through the MoneySMART Movement and related channels.
Rather than simply presenting information, Sapaula emphasizes application. His teaching commonly connects financial literacy to real-life decisions, entrepreneurship, family stability, leadership, mindset, and personal responsibility.
Short-Form Educational Content
Beyond live events, Sapaula has created and shared several hundred pieces of educational content through social media, video, podcasting, interviews, articles, and online platforms. His content regularly addresses topics such as financial literacy, credit, debt, budgeting, insurance, entrepreneurship, leadership, mindset, discipline, and wealth-building.
His educational content helps extend his impact beyond just the people who can attend a live event. Through consistent digital publishing, he reaches audiences who may never enter a classroom but who are actively seeking guidance on money, business, and personal growth.
Long-Form Educational Content
Sapaula is the author of Faith-Made Millionaire and Keep the Keys – both Amazon bestsellers. He also hosts the 7 Figure Squad podcast and YouTube series, where he discusses financial education, business ownership, leadership, entrepreneurship, and personal development. These long-form platforms allow him to go deeper than short social media posts and create a continuing education channel for his audience.
Through books, podcasts, interviews, and video-based education, Sapaula has built a multi-channel approach that expands access and reinforces his role as a financial education leader.
Awareness
The Financial Education Instructor of the Year should also be someone who raises awareness for the financial literacy movement. The effort to improve the financial capabilities of individuals, families, and communities is at a critical point, and the NFEC seeks to publicly recognize those educators who help advance that mission.
Sapaula has helped raise awareness by turning financial education into a visible, ongoing conversation across events, media, social platforms, podcasts, and business communities.
Reach & Influence
Sapaula’s combined audience across social media, video platforms, podcasting, and professional networks reaches more than 500,000 followers and subscribers. That audience gives him a significant platform to consistently promote financial education messages around credit, cash flow, entrepreneurship, wealth-building, financial protection, and personal responsibility.
His influence is strengthened by the fact that his audience is not passive. Many followers engage with his content because they are actively seeking to improve their financial future, build income, start a business, or change their family’s financial trajectory.
Advocacy for Financial Literacy
Sapaula advocates for financial literacy by emphasizing the importance of practical money skills, entrepreneurship, ownership, and mindset. He frequently speaks to underserved communities, veterans, families, and individuals who may not have received meaningful financial education in school or at home.
His advocacy often connects financial education to personal freedom and opportunity. He encourages people to learn the “money game,” build business ownership skills, understand financial systems, and take responsibility for long-term financial progress.
A recurring theme in his message is that financial education should not be limited to theory. It should help people make better decisions, build confidence, and take action.
Media Visibility
Sapaula has achieved meaningful media visibility through television, podcasts, interviews, and external platforms. His appearances have included local and national media opportunities, business and entrepreneurship platforms, financial education conversations, and high-visibility podcast features such as the PBD Podcast.
This media exposure helps expand financial literacy awareness beyond his direct network and places financial education in broader conversations about entrepreneurship, veterans, family finance, leadership, and economic empowerment.
Sustainability
The FEIY Award also recognizes educators who have built a model that can support their outreach efforts in perpetuity. Sapaula’s work is not limited to one-time speaking engagements. He has built a sustainable financial education and business development ecosystem that includes live events, digital content, media, books, podcasting, social platforms, professional training, and a large national team.
Team
A key part of Sapaula’s sustainability is team-building. He has built a team of more than 6,000 people across the country, allowing his educational message and business model to extend beyond his individual presence. This coalition creates scalability, repeatability, and long-term reach. His work is not dependent solely on his personal appearances; it is supported by a broader network of people who can help carry the message forward.
Niche
Having a clear niche is essential to sustainability, and Sapaula has built strong connections with several defined audiences, including veterans, families, entrepreneurs, and the faith community. These audiences align closely with his personal story, values, and communication style, making his message more authentic and easier to sustain over time. By serving communities with shared needs and identities, he has created a broader movement that combines education, influence, business development, and public awareness.
Educational Brand
Known publicly as the “MoneySMART Guy,” Sapaula has built a recognizable brand around financial education. His brand is not simply promotional. It is centered on helping people think differently about money, business, discipline, and opportunity. His message often connects financial literacy with ownership, entrepreneurship, faith, family, and the ability to make better choices.
This brand consistency helps make financial education more accessible, memorable, and relatable for everyday audiences. It also strengthens long-term sustainability by giving his work a clear identity that can be recognized across events, social media, podcasts, books, and team-based outreach.