Nobody minds market volatility when it’s in the upward direction. But recently we’ve gotten plenty of the type of volatility that we don’t like so much as investors, the kind that inspires headlines with words like “plunge” and that end with exclamation points.

In pre-pandemic times, the end of March marked a significant milestone for the college-bound, as most universities aimed to deliver their regular admission decisions to thousands of anxious students. And yet even the college admissions cycle was not immune to the impact of COVID-19, as many colleges extended their regular decision deadline.

It is no secret that kids can cost a pretty penny – raising a child from birth to 18 years of age can eclipse $230,000, an annual expense of nearly $13,000. Once you get past parenthood’s sticker shock, as well as the early sleepless nights, many parents (and grandparents) start thinking about preparing for future expenses.

Concerns about market downturns certainly come as no surprise. After all, steep corrections and crashes can be disconcerting for even the most steely and disciplined investors.

Diversifying your investment portfolio means putting together a mix of stocks, bonds and other investments with your financial goals, time horizon and risk tolerance in mind.

Medicare is an area that practically every American will encounter when planning for retirement. It sits at the intersection of health and wealth in your financial life plan, and so often surfaces across a range of long-term planning conversations.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. Since then, the U.S. Treasury Department has issued guidance to clarify and, in some cases, expand the provisions of the CARES Act dealing with retirement accounts and the relief offered to retirement account owners and/or beneficiaries.

What do you get when you assemble a dozen or so of nuclear science’s greatest minds, give them access to the world’s first electronic general-purpose digital computer, and spend $2 billion during the height of World War II? An atomic bomb of course, and a sophisticated simulation technique code-named Monte Carlo.

For many, correctly answering the question, “When should I begin to take my Social Security benefits?” is a critical step toward making sure their retirement income and savings last at least as long as they do.

Cultivating an “abundance mindset” might be far down your list of what needs attention today. In times such as these, you might even believe that the thing most in abundance right now is a mounting variety of very real financial stressors. That’s a fair point to make, and you most certainly would not be alone. In fact, events over the past few months likely have only served to highlight the relationship between money and stress, between financial wellbeing and emotional wellbeing.

During this pandemic, you may have family or friends whose health has been directly affected by COVID-19. And the longer you live, the more people you know will face significant health concerns. Making sure you and your family are prepared for these situations – now and in the future – is an act of kindness.

Maximizing returns” is a phrase that you’ll hear bandied about ad nauseam on both Wall Street and Main Street. As in, “My goal is to maximize my returns.” Is it though? Is that really the goal? Bronnie Ware would beg to differ. More on her in a moment.