Financial Planning for Veterinarians
Veterinary school prepared you to care for animals, not navigate student loan forgiveness, practice acquisition financing, or backdoor Roth strategies. SLP Wealth is a fiduciary financial planning firm built to help veterinarians make confident financial decisions from vet school through retirement.
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Fiduciary Advisors
Your best interest drives every recommendation
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Veterinary Specialists
Financial planning tailored to every stage of a veterinary career
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Student Loan Experts
Built on Student Loan Planner®, so loan strategy is in our DNA
Why Veterinarians Need a Specialized Financial Advisor
Veterinarians face a financial challenge that's unlike almost any other profession: high student debt paired with comparatively modest starting salaries. The average veterinary school graduate finishes with around $190,000 in student loans, but median starting salaries for new DVMs hover around $100,000 — creating one of the tightest debt-to-income ratios of any doctoral profession.
That math makes every financial decision matter more. The gap between a smart student loan strategy and a mediocre one can easily reach six figures over the life of your loans. And it doesn't stop at student debt — veterinarians also face decisions around practice ownership, seasonal income variability, retirement planning without employer pensions, and whether to pursue specialty training or corporate employment.
Then there's the complexity. Veterinarians regularly deal with questions that don't come up in a standard planning engagement: Should I pursue PSLF at a university or shelter, or refinance and pay aggressively? How do I evaluate a buy-in offer at my practice? Is it worth joining a corporate group for the salary bump if I lose equity upside? Should I form an S-corp for my relief or side income?
The wrong answer to any of these can cost tens of thousands of dollars — or more. A financial advisor who works with veterinarians day in and day out already knows the landscape, the trade-offs, and the strategies that matter most at each stage of a veterinary career.
That's why working with a veterinary financial advisor isn't about getting generic advice with an animal-medicine twist. It's about partnering with someone who understands the debt-to-income realities of veterinary medicine, practice ownership economics, and how student loans interact with every other part of your financial plan.
What a Veterinary Financial Advisor Helps You With
Financial planning for veterinarians touches nearly every corner of personal finance, but a few areas require especially careful, vet-specific attention. Here's where a dedicated financial advisor for veterinarians adds the most value.
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Student Loan Strategy
With a challenging debt-to-income ratio, the repayment path you choose matters more for veterinarians than almost any other profession. We help you evaluate whether PSLF at a qualifying employer, income-driven repayment and forgiveness, or aggressive refinancing is the right play — and how it fits your broader financial plan. At SLP Wealth, student loan planning is woven into every engagement, not treated as an afterthought.
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Tax Planning
Smart tax planning can meaningfully increase your take-home pay — especially if you do relief work, own a practice, or have 1099 income. We help veterinarians take advantage of backdoor Roth IRA conversions, S-corp election for practice or relief income, Section 179 deductions for equipment, and retirement plan design that minimizes your tax burden.
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Retirement Planning
Many veterinarians don't have access to employer pensions, making it essential to build your own retirement plan early. Whether you're contributing to an employer's 401(k), designing a solo 401(k) as a practice owner, or maximizing a Roth IRA on a tighter income, we help you build a retirement strategy that accounts for student debt and a realistic savings timeline.
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Practice Ownership & Transitions
Buying, starting, or selling a veterinary practice is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make. We help you evaluate acquisition offers, model the economics of ownership vs. associate or corporate employment, plan for partnership buy-ins, and think through whether a corporate group affiliation makes sense for your goals.
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Asset Protection & Insurance
Veterinarians face physical demands and occupational hazards that make disability coverage especially important. We address own-occupation disability insurance, term life, malpractice coverage, umbrella policies, and how your assets are titled — so your personal wealth is protected from practice-related risk.
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Cash Flow & Budgeting
Veterinary incomes can vary with caseload, relief shifts, and seasonal demand — and many vets are balancing loan payments against a salary that doesn't leave much margin for error. We help you build a spending framework that prioritizes loan repayment and savings while still letting you enjoy your life outside the clinic.
Meet the Veterinary financial planning team
David Aizuss is a seasoned financial professional dedicated to helping individuals navigate the intricacies of student loans. With a background as a commercial real estate appraiser from 2017 through 2020, David developed a sharp eye for financial nuances and honed his analytical skills.
Since 2021, David has been making a significant impact as a Mortgage Loan Officer. His journey in the mortgage industry showcases his commitment to guiding clients through the complexities of financial decisions, solidifying his reputation as a trusted advisor.
As a student loan advisor, David brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. His experience in both commercial real estate and mortgage lending uniquely positions him to offer comprehensive insights into financial planning.
What sets David apart is not just his technical proficiency but also his ability to communicate complex financial concepts in a clear and concise manner. Clients can trust him to demystify the student loan process and provide a roadmap to financial success.
Financial Planning for Veterinarians at Every Career Stage
Your financial priorities change as your career evolves. Here's how we approach planning for veterinarians at each stage.
Veterinary Students & New Graduates
During vet school, income is nonexistent and debt is piling up. The decisions you make right after graduation carry enormous long-term weight. Choosing the right student loan repayment strategy — IDR and forgiveness vs. refinancing, PSLF-eligible employment at a university or shelter vs. private practice — can save or cost you hundreds of thousands over the life of your loans.
We also help new graduates get the right disability insurance in place while rates are low and your health is typically at its best.
Associate Veterinarians
Your first few years as an associate are about building a financial foundation on what can feel like a tight income relative to your debt. You're deciding how aggressively to pay down loans, whether to do relief work on the side, and when (or whether) to pursue practice ownership or specialty training. This is also when tax planning starts to matter — especially if you have 1099 relief income. We help associates create a cash flow plan, prioritize competing financial goals, and make sure you're getting the most out of every dollar.
Practice Owners & Partners
Owning a practice changes everything. You're now managing business finances alongside personal finances — and the two are deeply intertwined. This is where conversations around entity structure (S-corp vs. LLC), retirement plan design (solo 401(k), SEP IRA, or cash balance plan), equipment depreciation, practice valuation, and expansion planning take center stage. Your net worth is growing, and the stakes of getting things right keep rising with it.
Pre-Retirement Veterinarians
As you approach the end of your clinical career, the focus shifts from accumulation to distribution — and for practice owners, there's the added complexity of a practice sale or transition. How will you draw down assets tax-efficiently? What does your healthcare coverage look like before Medicare kicks in? Should you do Roth conversions during lower-income bridge years? We help veterinarians nearing retirement stress-test their plan and make sure the transition from earning to living off your portfolio goes smoothly.
How SLP Wealth Is Different
There's no shortage of financial advisors, but very few understand the financial realities of veterinary medicine. Here's what sets SLP Wealth apart.
✅ Fiduciary financial advisors.
We charge transparent fees for financial planning and investment management with no hidden costs. When we identify a need for insurance or other products, we refer you to vetted professionals, and that referral relationship is always fully disclosed.
🎓 Student loan expertise built in.
SLP Wealth grew out of Student Loan Planner®, the largest student loan advisory in the country. Student loan strategy isn't a side offering — it's part of our DNA. For veterinarians especially, where the debt-to-income ratio is steep, getting the loan strategy right is one of the highest-value decisions we help with.
🌐 Virtual and nationwide.
We work with veterinarians everywhere. No need to find a local office. Your advisor is a video call or message away, which means you get access to a specialist instead of settling for whoever happens to practice nearby.
🐾 Veterinary focus, not lip service.
Our team advises veterinarians, dentists, physicians, and other high-income professionals with complex student debt. We know the nuances of veterinary compensation, practice ownership, relief work, and how to build a strategy that fits a veterinary career's unique financial timeline.
💲 Transparent pricing.
Our fees are published right here on this page. No hidden costs, no vague “depends on your situation” answers. You know exactly what you're paying before you commit.
Financial Planning
- First Month 50% Off ($99)
- Financial Planning
- Cash Flow Management
- Insurance Advice
- Retirement Savings Planning
- Student Loan Advice
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Add Additional Services:
We manage your portfolio so you don't have to. Tax-loss harvesting, diversified investments, and low fees, with your goals driving every decision. See our brochure for additional pricing info.
Tax planning, filing*, and services for:
- Individual W-2, K-1
- Single member LLC or Sole Proprietorship
- Amendments for student loan strategies
- Married filing separately included!
*Please visit slpwealth.com/tax-agreement for complete details
1For a limited time, just $199/month for financial planning and we’ll waive your set up fee ($0 instead of $1,000). Those fees are not locked in forever (thanks inflation), but once you sign up, we’ll keep you locked into that monthly rate as long as we can!
Testimonials / Endorsements
Stephanie
Veterinarian“Meredith is very kind and patient with me. I know next to nothing about financials and she has helped a lot!”
Claire
Veterinarian“I find finances, banking, student loans, and investing all overwhelming. I do not feel literate in these areas and having a professional who understands my profession tell me I'm on the right track here, but take these steps here (with specific helpful instructions!) is really really helpful and makes me feel much more secure in my savings and financial plan. It really is quite a mental load off.”
Samantha
Veterinarian“Meredith has been super helpful and easy to talk with. We only just started working with her but I feel hopeful she will really help us. And I like that she is also a veterinarian and knows the ins and outs of the profession and what we usually deal with financially.”
Keri
Veterinarian“I like SLP Wealth’s personal approach, everyone there seems to really understand the individual concerns of those of us with high student debt and work to help ease my mind and help me work towards financial freedom without giving up the things that are truly important to me.”
Meghan
Veterinarian“I look forward to professional knowledge specifically about planning as veterinary family with loans.”
Disclaimer:
These testimonial/endorsement statements were provided by current and former clients in response to client satisfaction surveys. Clients who completed surveys were eligible to participate in a drawing for a gift card awarded to a survey participant chosen at random, not based on survey responses. No compensation was given, and no conflict of interest exists between the client and SLP Wealth.
Financial Planning for Veterinarians — Frequently Asked Questions
Financial advisor fees vary widely. Commission-based advisors may appear “free” but earn money by selling products. Fiduciary advisors like SLP Wealth charge transparent fees. Our financial planning starts at $199/month with a $0 enrollment fee, investment management starts at 0.25% of assets under management, and we also offer personal tax services for an additional $199/month. When we refer you to an outside professional for insurance or other needs, we always disclose that relationship. You can see our full pricing above.
The earlier the better — but especially during major transitions. Graduating vet school, starting your first associate position, deciding whether to buy a practice, getting married, having children, or approaching retirement are all inflection points where the right guidance pays for itself many times over. For veterinarians in particular, the student loan decision right after graduation is one of the most consequential financial choices you'll ever make.
A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest — not sell you products for a commission. Given the tight debt-to-income ratio most veterinarians face, working with someone who is obligated to put your interests first provides important protection. At SLP Wealth, every advisor acts as a fiduciary, and when we do refer you to outside professionals for insurance or other needs, that relationship is always transparently disclosed.
The terms are often used interchangeably, but there's a meaningful distinction. A financial planner typically creates a comprehensive plan covering budgeting, taxes, insurance, retirement, and estate planning. A financial advisor may focus more narrowly on investment management. At SLP Wealth, we do both — comprehensive financial planning and investment management — under one roof, so your strategy is always coordinated.
Veterinarians face a unique combination of challenges: high student loan balances relative to income, the decision of whether to buy or start a practice, seasonal income variability, a lack of traditional pension plans, and career paths that range from private practice to corporate groups to academia and government. A financial advisor who specializes in working with veterinarians understands these dynamics and builds plans around them — rather than using a generic template and hoping it fits.
Absolutely. SLP Wealth is a fully virtual firm serving veterinarians in all 50 states. Most of our client meetings happen over video, and our planning and investment management platforms are accessible from anywhere.
This is one of the most common concerns we hear from veterinarians, and it's a fair question. Our financial planning starts at $199/month — and for most veterinarians, the value of getting student loan strategy, tax planning, and retirement planning right far exceeds the cost. A single optimized loan decision can save tens of thousands of dollars. We also offer a risk-free trial so you can see the value before you commit.
