Dr. Meredith Jones and Joe Warner, both Certified Student Loan Professionals, talk about what actually happens during a student loan consult for veterinarians. If you’ve ever wondered how we sort through repayment rules, forgiveness options, and tax implications, this episode walks you through it step by step.

Highlights:

• Why veterinarians seek student loan guidance: overwhelm, confusing regulations, major life changes, and uncertainty about which plan is best
• What you share beforehand (your student loan file, plus your spouse’s if they have federal loans) so we can prepare
• How the consult starts with your goals and your student loan story, which helps shape the conversation
• How we compare repayment plans, estimate long-term costs, check progress toward forgiveness, and decide whether you’ll need to save for a future tax bill
• Why your tax filing status can change your payment far more than you’d expect if you’re married
• What you walk away with: clear action steps and follow-up email support if questions come up afterward

Schedule a student loan consult: https://calendly.com/vetdebtexperts

Questions? Contact us: [email protected]

Meredith sits down with Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, emergency and critical care specialist veterinarian and mental health advocate, to talk about her new book A Compassionate Calling: What It Really Means to Be a Veterinarian.

Key Topics:

• Marie’s path through specialty training, academia, burnout, and wellbeing advocacy
• What inspired A Compassionate Calling and the misconceptions it aims to clear up
• Real stories that show both the fulfillment and emotional complexity of veterinary medicine
• How emergency and critical care shaped her perspective on moral stress and client communication
• Practical wellbeing resources available through RevivingVetMed.com and her advice on prioritizing mental health

Connect with Marie Holowaychuk: 

Marieholowaychuk.com

RevivingVetMed.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarieholowaychuk/

Instagram: @marieholowaychuk

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

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Meredith shares practical grocery hacks that make life easier, save money, and help you waste less. Inspired by conversations at home and with clients, she walks through simple strategies to plan smarter, shop intentionally, and enjoy cooking again - without feeling deprived.

If you’ve ever stood in front of your fridge wondering how you spent $150 and still don’t have a dinner plan, this one’s for you.

Highlights:

• Plan ahead: Use a dry-erase board for meal planning, and check your pantry before shopping
• Shop smart: Do the math on price per ounce, and test one store-brand swap each week
• Invest wisely: A good chef’s knife and quality pan make cooking faster and more enjoyable
• Cook once, eat twice: Bulk cook, freeze extras, and make “leftovers night” a ritual
• Splurge intentionally: Great coffee or olive oil can be worth it - just spend with purpose

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

Dr. Anna Foster is an emergency veterinarian and co-founder of The Evolved Vets, which helps veterinarians grow personally and professionally through coaching, education, and community. She also writes Dr. Anna Foster – Travel Vet on Substack, where she shares reflections on self-development, travel, and her recent three-month sabbatical. Anna joins Meredith to talk about what inspired her career break and the lessons she learned along the way.

Highlights:

• Why Anna decided to take a three-month sabbatical after years in ER medicine and leadership roles
• How she planned ahead - financially, professionally, and emotionally - to make it possible
• The emotional toll of emergency medicine
• How the Shift Shedding meditation helps veterinarians decompress after difficult shifts
• What she learned from a three-day phone-free reset and how it changed her relationship with technology
• Why the antidote to rushing isn’t slowing down, but being present

Resources:

• Dr. Anna Foster – Travel Vet: https://substack.com/@drannafoster
• The Evolved Vets: evolvedvets.com
• Dr. Anna Foster on Instagram: @drannafoster

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

With the recent student loan repayment changes, many veterinarians are facing a much bigger bill than before.

Whether you’re moving from SAVE to PAYE, preparing for Old IBR in a couple of years, or switching plans and suddenly seeing your payment double, the jump can feel overwhelming. You’re not alone in this — and you can prepare.

In this episode, I’ll walk you through five key steps to help you get ready for higher student loan payments:

• Know your next steps: Which plan are you eligible for, and what payment can you expect? If you’re married, could you save money by switching your tax filing status?

• Get clear on your budget: Use Monarch Money, a spreadsheet, or whatever works - awareness is key.

• Build breathing room: Practice your higher payment now to avoid a cash-flow shock later.

• Be intentional with your compensation: Negotiate for higher pay, stronger production, or better benefits. And if you’re picking up extra shifts, make sure they’re in alignment with your goals — not just a reaction to student loan stress.

• Shift your perspective: Remember, the COVID pause was unusual — higher payments are tough, but you can adapt.


If you’ve been feeling stressed or blindsided by your new payment, this episode will give you both the tools and perspective to move forward.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 67: What the new Student Loan Bill Means for Veterinarians
• Debt-Free Vets Facebook Group

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

Christine Staten, DVM, MBA has been a veterinary practice owner for over 20 years, and in that time, has made lots of great decisions (and some she wouldn’t make again!) while growing her practice and her team. Dr. Christine joins Meredith to share her story and why she’s so passionate about helping other vets build veterinary practices that succeed so they can keep doing the work they love.

Key Topics:

• Christine shares how she started on the path to becoming a vet practice owner
• Christine gives practical advice for how to manage a team and utilize data and strategic team retreats to accelerate business growth
• The value of community for practice owners to combat isolation and being overburdened by your responsibilities
• How going back to school to get an MBA in her 50s further improved her veterinary practice
• Why work life balance is impossible, and what you should aim for instead
• Christine’s personal framework for managing stress, burnout, and day-to-day worries

Links and resources:

• Connect with Christine on Instagram @veterinary_mba 
• Find Christine Staten and her community of veterinary practice owners at veterinary-mba.com as well! 

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

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• Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music
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Veterinary medicine and financial planning share a common framework: history-taking, diagnostics, treatment or action plans, and progress exams. Recognizing these parallels can help make money conversations less intimidating and much more familiar for veterinarians.

Key Topics:

• How financial planning and veterinary medicine share the same step-by-step process
• Working up a case in vet med mirrors working up a case in financial planning
• The role of history-taking and information gathering in both fields
• How treatment plans compare to financial action plans
• Why progress exams and financial check-ins serve the same purpose
• How my clinical background shapes my financial advice

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

Medical records have historically been one of the biggest time drains and stressors in veterinary practice. AI notetakers, also called scribes or transcription tools, are changing that.

I share stories from my ER career and financial planning work, along with insights from veterinarians in the Debt-Free Vets Facebook group, on how these tools save time, improve accuracy, and reduce late-night record writing. You’ll also hear strategies that can help when AI isn’t an option.

Veterinarians describe how AI notetakers have transformed their daily workflow—helping them juggle multiple cases, keep up with busy shifts, and finally stop staying late just to finish records.

Highlights include:

• The challenges of managing medical records in busy clinical settings
• How AI notetakers can save time, reduce errors, and boost efficiency
• What veterinarians are saying about their favorite tools
• The cost of an AI notetaker - and why it may be worth paying for yourself if your hospital won’t
• Other efficiency tools, including human scribes and TextExpander

Whether you’re curious about AI notetakers, overwhelmed by incomplete records, or just looking for ways to reclaim your time, this conversation offers real-world insights into how these tools are changing veterinary practice.

Links and Resources:

• Debt-Free Vets Facebook group
• Thread in Debt-Free Vets on AI notetakers

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

Perfectionism might have helped you get into vet school, but it could be holding you back financially. Dr. Jason Balara joins Meredith to talk about how an “all or nothing” mindset can sabotage your financial goals and delay meaningful progress. Jason is a board-certified veterinary surgeon and founder of Lark Capital, a real estate investment firm.

They explore:

• Why striving for excellence beats chasing perfection
• How perfectionism shows up in investing, budgeting, and student loan strategies
• Why it’s better to start small than wait for the “perfect” financial plan
• How Jason restructured his career to prioritize time and autonomy

Whether you’re working toward loan forgiveness, thinking about launching a side business, or feeling stuck because you don’t have all the answers—this episode will help you take action without waiting for perfect conditions.

Links and Resources:

• Contact Jason Balara at [email protected] or on LinkedIn
• Check out the Know Your Why Podcast with Dr. Jason Balara

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or check out allvetfinancial.com

In this episode, I walk through what the student loan changes in the Big Beautiful Bill mean for current and future veterinary students.

If you’re already in repayment, be sure to check out the previous episode, which covers what these changes mean for veterinarians who have already graduated.

Most of the updates won’t take effect until July 1, 2026, but they’re important to understand now—whether you’re a student or someone who mentors future vet students.

Key topics include:

• Who is and isn’t affected by the new $200k federal student loan cap
• When the changes take effect and which class years are impacted
• Grad PLUS loans are going away—and what that means for vet students
• What we know about the new RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan) so far
• How consolidation strategy may shift next year
• How this bill may affect access to the profession going forward

I also share practical advice for current students, future students, and anyone advising future applicants—as well as my thoughts on how these changes could reshape the veterinary profession.

Interested in vet-specific financial planning?

Schedule a free intro call or email [email protected]

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• Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music
• Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts