MAKE A PLAN TO PAY DOWN YOUR DEBT
BREATHE. Mortgage is debt, credit card is debt, everyone has debt. The most successful investors use a ton of debt to finance their investments. I.e. Borrow at 5%, make 8%, keep 3%. Debt is not always a bad thing.
PRIORITIZE & CONSOLIDATE. No matter the amount of debt you have, you want to always be paying the lowest interest rate on it. Vet school debt is often lower interest than credit card, but higher than mortgage. Always pay down the higher cost one first. Similarly, if paying down your vet school debt means taking out credit card debt, then keep your vet school debt.
YOUR CAREER IS AN INVESTMENT. You are among the most highly trained class of individuals in the world. Your $65K - $300K debt is an investment in the skills you gained. Now - how do you monetize that investment? Until salaries increase in the industry, the best way to do so is to own or share in the equity upside of a practice. But we digress…
WHAT DO YOU SAVE / SPEND PER YEAR. Calculate ALWAYS after tax, what you project making in salary, and what you project to spend. What is left over is what you have to pay down debt. Divide the debt by your savings and how many years will it take to pay it down?
MAKE A PLAN. If you can pay down debt within 5-7 years of graduating, and live comfortably, then you should feel good about the situation. If you want to accelerate the paydown, you can either spend less or make more.
SPEND LESS? THE 3Ds See what spend you can delay, diminish or deny entirely. Ideas include reduced rent, eating out less often, reduced shopping, more creative travel.
MAKE MORE. (so obvious, right?)The obvious ones here are to work more days or locum (20% more pay) or do hospice work (up to $150/hr). We are biased towards practice ownership which allows you to earn significant value in the practice you are helping to build. Ownership can be purposeful, passionate and fulfilling beyond the financial considerations.
HAVE A PLAN. Just like losing weight, running a marathon, passing a course - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Build a plan early on and try to follow it even if you have unexpected hardships along the way.
