Setting SMART financial goals this New Year

Around 15 million Australians – three in four of us – set New Year goals¹. They typically revolve around health and wealth, with resolutions often focusing on losing weight, getting fit, and saving money.  

The common thread is that many of us fail to make good on our goals. 

Research suggests around 91% of our well-intentioned resolutions will have withered on the vine by Australia Day². 

So this year, why not try a fresh approach? 

The value of setting SMART financial goals 

Right now, all Australians are facing a number of financial challenges – and medical, dental and veterinary professionals are no exception. 

Newly graduated doctors, dentists and vets, for instance, can be burdened with high student debt, potentially making it difficult to achieve personal goals such as buying a first home or car. 

More experienced practitioners may be unsure how to achieve goals of starting a practice or buying into an established practice. 

Further along the scale, medical professionals with many years of experience may be looking to expand or diversify existing practices, but can feel uncertain how to achieve their goal. 

A useful solution is to set SMART goals. 

Setting SMART goals 

‘SMART’  stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based.  

It may sound like a lot, but these parameters help to support you in achieving your in New Year goals.  

Taking a SMART approach eliminates generalisations, sets clear milestones and timeframes, and makes it easier for doctors, dentists and vets to track their progress towards key results. 

Actionable tips for ticking off SMART goals 

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved with SMART goals.  

S: Specific 

For a goal to be realistic it needs to be specific rather than vague – and address exactly what you want to accomplish. 

The more you can hone in on a goal, the more you will have a clear idea of the steps needed to achieve it. 

M: Measurable 

Vague goals can be impossible to achieve – let alone measure progress towards. 

That’s why it is so important to set goals that can be measured.  

If your aim is to grow your medical practice, specific goals such as “I will grow patient numbers by 20% in 2025” or “I would like to increase revenue by 15%” provide far more measurable targets than “I want my practice to get bigger”. 

A: Achievable 

This is an area where it can be easy to set ourselves up for failure.  

Your goals for 2025 should be realistic, something you and your team can reasonably accomplish in a given timeframe.  

Setting goals that are unrealistic or simply too high can discourage you and/or your team, and ultimately, prove counter-productive. 

R: Relevant 

This step can call for some soul searching.   

Do your goals for 2025 contribute to your overall, long term personal and/or career goals? 

If your New Year goals don’t complement your broader objectives, you may want to rethink what you are working towards in 2025. 

T: Time-based 

To properly measure success, it is worth setting an end date to achieve your New Year goal(s). 

This can provide motivation and help you focus on, and prioritise, key goals.  

As a guide, your goal may be to set up your own practice by late 2025. If you are no closer to this goal by, say, September, you can start to consider why – perhaps the timeframe was too ambitious, or maybe you have run into unexpected road blocks that could see you benefit from professional support. 

Avant Finance can help you achieve your 2025 goals 

Only rarely do we achieve our goals on our own. 

When it comes to achieving your goals in 2025, Avant Finance’s expertise in lending to doctors, access to Avant loan products, plus those of the lenders we partner with, can be the key to ticking off your aspirations. 

From home loans for doctors to car loans for vets, we can help you, whether you are medical, dental and veterinary professional, achieve your personal goals. 

We’re also here to help with your professional goals. 

Avant’s line of credit loans for doctors, medical equipment finance, business loans and commercial property loans for doctors can provide the funding you need to start ticking off your 2025 SMART goals.  

To find out more about how we can help, call Avant Finance on 1300 992 208, or request a free consultation with an Avant Finance specialist.