Auditor presents workshop on women's investing, savings and retirement

The Montana state auditor and members of his staff were in Havre Thursday hosting a financial and investment education workshop, Money Matters for Montana Women.

The workshop focused on the needs of women in investing and finances.

Rosendale, who is running as a Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Deputy Auditor Kris Hansen and other staff from the State Auditor's Office hosted a Women Thursday in Havre at the Havre Inn and Suites.

"More and more women are playing bigger and bigger roles in the financial decisions and earnings of households across the state, and many could be in a position to start, buy or grow small businesses," Matt Rosendale said.

Rosendale, who is campaigning for Montana's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and members of his staff including former Havre Republican state Sen. Kris Hansen, presented the workshop.

He said that in addition to regulating insurance and securities and serving as a criminal justice agency, prosecuting white-collar crimes, the state auditor's office also has a mission to educate investors and promote capital formation. Workshops such as this one, help ensure people have knowledge of how to expand and access their money and have their businesses grow without people making a mistake and getting in trouble.

The Money Matters for Montana Women workshop, which is being put on around the state, is an event geared toward women because they are a growing force in the workplace and are taking more responsibilities in regards to finances, he said. He added that a number of small businesses are shutting down across the state because business owners, who are retiring, are having a hard time finding people to take over after they are gone. The Small Business Administration estimates that about 10,000 jobs in Montana are at risk of disappearing because of this issue, but it also creates an opportunity for more people to step into leadership roles or start new businesses.

The workshop focuses on helping people better understand investing, saving, financial planning, taking financial risks and fraud prevention, he said. The workshop is also aimed at helping people understand the role of Social Security and Medicare.

"I believe it's critically important that you understand how they interact with where you are going and your income and make sure we preserve those programs also going into the future," Rosendale said.

During Hansen's presentation, she said that, statistically, women are moving from dependence to independence, with the female income growth up 75 percent from 1970 to 2015.

Since women have joined the workforce, more dual income families exist, with women dealing with more finances, she added. But the financial deck is still stacked against them, she said, with women facing unique challenges, such as living longer lifespans than men, filling the role of a full-time caregiver and the gender pay gap.

Also, a quarter of women have not planned for retirement, she said. She added that women and men face four major obstacles: spending habits, inflation, taxes and procrastination. People are not thinking about their futures or retirement and end up starting later than they should have, she said.

Her advice is that people should be putting away 50 percent of their take-home pay to essential expenses, 15 percent of pretax income for retirement and save 5 percent for unexpected expenses.

If a person at the age of 25 invested $100 a month for 10 years at 10 percent compounding interest, by the age of 65 they would have $465,267, but if someone waits until they are 30 to 35 to do the 10-year investment, at the age of 65 they would have half of what the 25-year-old did.

People should also educate themselves in equity investments and debt investments, she said. Equity investment is when someone purchases investments, becomes an owner and tries to grow the investment so when they need money they can sell it. Debt investment is when people loan their money - buying bonds - and get it back with interest. She added that both are good ways for people to invest their money.

She said she also encourages people to look into employer-sponsored plans because this is free money employers are willing to give you, although occasionally the plans have conditions. She added that something many people find helpful is hiring a financial investor, but before hiring an investor a person should properly vet them and call the state auditor's office to make sure the financial investor is completely transparent.

Another thing that is important is that people look into their long-term insurance plans, power of attorney for assets, power of attorney for health care, updating and keeping track of their wills, and keeping track of their Social Security benefits, she said. She added that people also need to make sure they are constantly updating the information so it is as accurate as possible.

It is also important to make adjustments due to inflation and future medical expenses, she said. People also need to be careful about scams such as pyramid schemes, ponzi schemes, promissory notes, unsuitable and exotic investments, excessive trading, annuity fraud and romance scams

Edward Jones Financial Advisor Jeniffer Tilleman said people need to prepare for the unexpected. People should always keep in mind their expenses and understand Social Security for themselves and their spouses.

A Social Security retirement benefit is based on the highest 35 years of someone's earnings, with the adjustment for inflation, as well as the age a person began taking Social Security, she said. 

People need to plan on living longer and start saving early, she added.

Real estate salesperson Cori Winsor said that she has lived in Havre since 2007 and has focused on her finances since her time at Montana State University-Northern. She added that people do not have to repeat the spending habits of their parents and need to be able to make hard decisions when it comes to their finances, such as creating a budget, watching their credit card debt and other debt.

"I'm hoping, from a personal experience, you can kind of see it's really a mind set," she said. "It's never too late to start building that budget and focusing on saving and growing rather than just surviving."