Meredith and Joe talk with Dr. Jason Szumski about how mentorship, business ownership, and AI are shaping modern veterinary careers.

1. What new grads should look for in mentorship and how to evaluate a first job
2. How practice owners can better support and recruit early-career veterinarians
3. Jason’s path into business ownership and how he found mentors along the way
4. Balancing clinical work with building something outside of practice
5. Where AI notetakers fit into veterinary workflows and what to know right now

Resources mentioned:

Jason Szumski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonszumski

VetSOAP - PetSmart Charities study: https://www.vetsoap.ai/psc

Article: Cost of Care Continues to Strain Veterinary Care Access: https://petsmartcharities.org/press-releases/cost-of-care-continues-to-strain-veterinary-care-access

If you'd like help creating a financial plan that supports your life and career, learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

Self-care gets talked about a lot in veterinary medicine, but what does it actually look like for veterinarians in real life? Meredith shares results from a Debt-Free Vets poll about what vets actually spend money on to make this career more sustainable.

1. Poll results: time off and experiences, physical care, therapy, and more
2. What vets are actually spending money on (horses, massages, hobbies, travel, and house cleaners)
3. Why flexibility and reducing workload came up repeatedly in the comments
4. The idea of “buying back your time” and why it matters for long-term career sustainability

If you'd like help creating a financial plan that supports your life and career, learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

If you’re trying to lower your taxes and your income-driven student loan payment, your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is the number that drives both. Joe and Meredith walk through the most common ways vets can bring that number down.

Key Topics:

1. Making pre-tax retirement contributions and why Roth doesn’t lower AGI
2. Using a Solo 401k with 1099 relief income
3. Contributing to an HSA if you’re on a qualifying high-deductible plan
4. Taking advantage of Health Care or Dependent Care FSAs through your employer
5. Making sure legitimate Schedule C business expenses are reducing your net profit if you’re self-employed

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

Relief work offers flexibility and higher earning potential, but it comes with unique financial considerations. In this episode, Meredith covers the core money basics relief vets and techs should have in place.

1. Organizing your finances as a relief vet or tech
2. Planning for quarterly taxes for 1099 income
3. Retirement options for self-employed relief vets and techs (Solo 401k, SEP IRA)
4. Using relief work to support sabbaticals and flexibility
5. Student loan strategy basics, including reducing adjusted gross income

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

Student loan forgiveness can come with a tax bill, and recent changes to repayment plans have prompted many veterinarians to revisit how they’re preparing for it.

Meredith walks through the most common questions we get about the student loan tax bomb, how it works, what’s changed, and what to review as part of a long-term plan.

1. When student loan forgiveness is taxable and when it isn’t
2. How to think about preparing for the tax bomb over time
3. Why investing, rather than saving, for the tax bomb often makes sense
4. What happens if you’re not prepared when forgiveness occurs

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

Dr. Meredith Jones and Joe Warner share a practical look at financial resolutions veterinarians can focus on in the new year, with an emphasis on clarity, strategy, and aligning money decisions with what matters most.

Topics covered:

1. Building a realistic budget and understanding cash flow
2. Optimizing student loan strategies, including what SAVE borrowers should know
3. Increasing retirement contributions sustainably
4. Using money intentionally to support the life you want
5. What veterinarian-specific financial planning actually looks like

Episodes Mentioned:

1. 73: Five Steps to Prepare for the Jump in Student Loan Payments
2. 74: How a Sabbatical Can Reset Your Life - Dr. Anna Foster
3. 77: What Happens in a Student Loan Consult

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

Veterinary medicine is demanding in ways most financial advice ignores. Schedules change, cases run long, and emotional fatigue is common. Financial plans that assume unlimited energy and perfect follow-through often don’t hold up.

In this episode, we talk about how to burnout-proof your finances so your money supports you through real life, not just on good weeks.

Key Topics:

1. Why emergency funds function as mental health tools, not just savings
2. How automation reduces financial decision fatigue
3. Designing your finances around sustainability, not hustle
4. Flexibility and optionality as financial goals
5. Giving yourself permission to choose stability over optimization

Your financial plan should make your life easier, not heavier.

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com

The Dept of Ed has announced an agreement to officially end the SAVE plan. If you’re in the SAVE forbearance, this episode walks through planning your next move.

Key Topics:

1. What the end of the SAVE plan means and what we know so far
2. What happens if you’re currently on the SAVE forbearance
3. Which repayment plans borrowers are likely to switch to
4. Why planning now matters, even without set deadlines
5. How income recertification and tax filing status can impact your payment
6. Common planning opportunities we’re seeing for veterinarians right now

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

1. Learn more or schedule a free intro call at allvetfinancial.com