NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Occupation: Manager at a Ford factory.

Residence: Louisville, Ky.

Bottom line: $200,000 in assets. Has 15 percent pre-tax and 10 percent after tax taken out of his check. Deposits $1,000 per month into an E*Trade account, $100 per month to a pre-tax retirement account, $500 per month into Janus Overseas, Janus Mercury, and Janus Worldwide mutual funds. Owes $210,000 on a home that was bought for $280,000 three years ago.

Saving for tomorrow: Dave Farley, 35, likes to watch his bank account grow. He saves as much as he can every month, with just enough left over to hit a few Cleveland Brown games during the regular season. If all goes as planned, he'll retire by age 45.

Dave started out as a high school teacher, but he left that position almost immediately -- opting instead for a more lucrative post at Ford Motor Co., where he's worked for the past 12 years. He now earns roughly $120,000 per year.

As part of its recent restructuring plan, Ford said it will close five plants in North America and cut 35,000 jobs worldwide. But Dave said his facility will remain open.

"We make popular vehicles -- Super Duty pick-up trucks and the Excursion SUVs," he said.

Dave may be among the lucky ones, but he hasn't escaped the economic recession entirely unscathed. His employer said it will cut his annual bonus and eliminate matching retirement contributions later this year, at least temporarily.

After the suspension of the matching funds, Dave thinks he will have to save an additional $6,000 a year on his own to meet his goal of retiring in 10 years.

"My parents never really got into saving, and this is something I've concentrated on for awhile," he said.

Dave started investing early by cashing in a life insurance policy in high school: "I had a policy that wasn't really doing me any good, so I cashed it in and bought some front-loaded (mutual) funds."

He sold the funds shortly thereafter and used the capital to start his own personalized retirement plan by watching financial programs, reading magazines, and picking investments for the long haul.

Besides his Janus holdings, Dave also has an equity stake in Exxon Mobil (XOM: Research, Estimates), AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates), Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates), Cisco (CSCO: Research, Estimates), and Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates). "I plan on holding the stocks for about five years," he said.

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Dave mixes his aggressive stock and mutual fund investments with some high-yield bonds as well, giving his portfolio added stability.

As for specific plans after retirement, Dave said there's nothing written in stone, but "I would like to hit more Browns games and get back into teaching."