(MONEY Magazine) – Keith Kidd, 29, a scout for the Phoenix Cardinals football team, has always known the value of a dollar. "When he was 14, his aunt wanted to take him to Disneyland," says Keith's wife Laura, 28, a department store assistant manager. "He said he'd rather have the money to save." Such dogged thrift is now at the heart of the couple's life plan. "I'd like to be on the golf course at 45 and see the world," Keith explains. But first the Kidds, who live in a three-bedroom townhouse, want to buy a home of their own and start a family. So far they have amassed $41,000 in 4 1/2 years of marriage. They keep $12,000 in a money-market fund and the rest in three growth-stock funds -- Amcap, New Economy, Twentieth Century Ultra and the stock portfolio of Laura's tax-deferred 401(k) plan, to which she contributes 6% of her salary. That's the maximum her company will match with shares of its own stock, though the plan allows her to contribute up to 12% of her paycheck. In addition, the Kidds save $500 to $600 a month, about 12% of their salaries.

Advice While applauding the Kidds' aggressive saving, Denver financial planner Eileen Sharkey urges them to set a more realistic goal of calling it quits at 60. "To retire at 45, they would need to save $4,600 a month -- more than their combined take-home pay -- and earn a 10% return," she explains. "But if they want to retire at 60, they're on target." Sharkey, who assumes the Kidds' salaries will rise an average of 4% a year, advises Laura to hike her 401(k) contribution to the 12% maximum. She also recommends that the Kidds diversify their portfolio by selling Amcap, an average performer, and putting the proceeds in a no-load small-cap stock fund, such as Meridian (up 27% annually in the three years to Jan. 1; 800-446-6662) or T. Rowe Price New America Growth (up 28%; 800-638-5660), and an international stock fund, such as Warburg Pincus International Equity (up 20%; 800-257-5614) or T. Rowe Price International Stock (up 16%). And because job security can be low in football, the Kidds should maintain a $5,000 emergency reserve after they become homeowners.