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BUILDING ASSETS UNDER A STUDENT-LOAN LOAD

By the time Christyne Lawson graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1994, her student loans had crept past $70,000, which the Detroit native found "kind of scary." Facing a three-year hospital residency that paid only a third of what a full-fledged staff doctor earned, Lawson had to cut her expenses. Now, after three years as a staff physician at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan, earning about $100,000 a year, the 34-year-old family-practice M.D. is cutting her student-loan load while deftly growing her money:

EASING THE DEBT LOAD: "My school-loan payments came to more than $1,000 a month, so I moved back with my parents to save money; I paid them $200 a month and leased a car. I've now reduced the loans to $50,000."

GROWING MY MONEY: "When I finished my residency, I knew I'd be making four times as much money and would have to make some investments. I worked with a financial adviser, who directed me to IRAs and mutual funds. What I like about my mutual fund is that it also works as a savings and a checking account, as well as a debit card. I get about 8 1/2 percent interest, and I can really see my money grow. I started with about $5,000 three years ago, and I'm now up to about $20,000."

BUYING A TAX SHELTER: "I needed to buy a home to help protect my earnings from taxes. Because of my less-than-perfect credit rating, I had to get an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) mortgage at 8.5 percent, which was higher than the market rate."