There are many things that don’t mix well – orange juice and toothpaste, water and a keyboard, flies and Chardonnay. But there’s one thing that never, ever mixes well – investing and elections. This is because politics matter far less to reaching our goals than the investing, saving and planning decisions we make when crafting a long-term financial strategy.

Between stock market upheaval, campus closings and major regulatory and tax changes, the COVID-19 pandemic has inserted a great deal of complexity into education planning. If you’re currently paying for college or repaying a student loan, the following Q&A addresses three education financing changes you should be aware of.

As I look back on the past two months of insane markets, I feel both shock and relief at what we’ve been going through. March 2020 was the most volatile month in stock markets history.

The massive $2 trillion CARES (for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act, passed by Congress on March 27, 2020, is intended to bolster an economy ravaged by the effects of COVID-19. In addition to direct payments and loans for both individuals and businesses, there are also several provisions dealing with your financial and tax planning, both now and into the future.

Think about how much the world has changed since the end of 2019. Given all this economic upheaval, it’s understandable if any financial goals you might have set for yourself at year’s end already seem out of reach. Yet despite the current environment of broad market instability and low interest rates, there are several long-term planning opportunities you can take advantage of now.

A financial plan is like a house; it was never intended that one model would fit all your needs over the course of a lifetime. Instead, your plans must evolve over time as your goals, your family and your income level change. While your principles remain the same throughout your life, the tactics you use to achieve your financial goals change with the decades.