I (Gary Tagtmeier) am a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and had my own accounting practice for over ten years and had all different types of clients. I had doctors, dentists, lawyers, truck drivers, electricians, and I found across the board, it doesn’t matter what a person’s education level is. ..most people just don’t know a lot about personal money management.

Then on September 21, 1980, I saw an article in the Chicago Tribune and it talked about how people have to be careful going to financial seminars because usually the person putting on the seminar just wants to sell you something. Have you ever gotten one of these notices in the mail that says you’re invited to a “free” seminar? And now, lots of financial planners are even inviting you to a “free” dinner seminar. But as we know, there’s no “free” lunch. Based upon some of the things we’ve seen happen in the financial services industry (described below), you really have to be careful about who you trust.

FAI is Objective…So that was the start of Financial Awareness Institute in 1980, with a concept that we do not offer any legal, tax, insurance or investment products or services of any kind. Our concept is to provide completely objective education in personal money management and financial planning.

FAI is Trustworthy…And from day one, we have gone to employers who allow us to provide personal financial education as a benefit for their employees. Although FAI has worked with major organizations around the country, it is still a very small percentage of the employers out there who offer the type of objective education that we provide. So if you happen to know of any group that may need the type of help we provide, please let them know about Financial Awareness Institute.

FAI is Credible…Gary Tagtmeier Professional Background (Founder of FAI):

• Certified Public Accountant
• Registered Investment Advisor Principle
• Licensed Real Estate Broker (inactive)
• Member: American Institute of CPA’s
• Member: National Association of Realtors
• Member: Employee Assistance Professional Association
• Member: National Speakers Association

Why you need FAI’s driving philosophy!
After numerous financial industry embarrassments, many people are now becoming aware of the conflicts of interest in the financial services industry. Unfortunately, some financial service companies do what’s best for their profits and not necessarily what’s right for you and that’s why FAI offers financial education and information that is completely objective.

You need objective financial information because over the last 30 years, there have been numerous financial abuses by various banks, savings and loans, stock brokers, financial planners, mutual funds and insurance companies. Click here for a history of financial abuses

Education in Personal Money Management…FAI’s mission!
Over the past 26 years, FAI has been teaching personal finance through seminars, workbooks, videos and audiocassettes for tens of thousands of employees of major organizations. (Click for list) And now we can expand and continue our financial literacy mission with the advanced technology of on-line, self paced e-learning systems. You can now learn at your own pace and in the convenience of your own home.

Creating prosperous generations…one person at a time: FAI’s long term goal!
Although we want to help Americans of all ages manage their money better and get more out of what they earn, another major part of our mission is to get every high school and college graduate to start saving $100 a month the day they start working…and we plan to do it through this website. Because if they do, they will be able to take advantage of what’s called “The Magic of Compounding…which has also been referred to as…the 8th wonder of the world”! Compounding is simply earning interest on previously earned interest. Or having your investment appreciate in value year-by-year and leaving that appreciation to grow on top of previous appreciation.

Now here’s how compounding works. Let’s say the day people get their first full time job, (age 21), they start saving $100 a month and do that for 40 years. And let’s assume they invested in something like the stock market and get a return of 11%, which the stock market has averaged over the last 70 years. In this scenario, they’d accumulate approximately $857,000. But, if they waited until age 31 to start saving and saved for only 30 years, they’d have only $280,000! As you can see, those 10 years make an unbelievable difference in a person’s long term accumulation of wealth.

So if you’re a recent graduate or a parent, grandparent, relative, or caring friend of a recent graduate, get the graduate to our site and get them signed up for our Recent Graduate course. If you’re the parent, just think about it…if your son/daughter and/or you just paid tens of thousands of dollars to get a college education to hopefully make more money, spend a fraction of that amount to learn how to get the most out of a working career…it’s time to take action!