If you earn six figures and owe $200,000 in student loans, the first step is not automatically making the largest payment you can afford. Start by identifying your loan types, interest rates, repayment plan, potential forgiveness eligibility and projected payoff date. Then determine whether your best strategy is forgiveness, accelerated repayment or a coordinated combination of debt reduction and other financial priorities.

If your student loan balance keeps going up even though you make payments, your payment may not be reducing the principal as much as you think. Interest can accrue on your loans, and federal student loan payments are generally applied to outstanding interest before principal. Depending on your loans, repayment plan and payment history, you can make payments month after month while seeing surprisingly little movement in what you actually owe.

If you make $150,000 a year and still feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck, the problem may not be that you do not make enough money. Your income may already be committed to taxes, housing, debt, transportation, family obligations, lifestyle costs and expenses that do not happen every month.

A six-figure salary creates income.

It does not automatically create financial margin.