Ages: Ryan, 25, Hope, 23
Occupations: Car salesman, Medical billing coder
Salary: Approximately $56,000 combined
Home and land: $125,000 estimated value
IRA, 401(k): About $22,500
Mutual Funds: $3,000

Utilities: $310 per month
Groceries: About $350 per month
Entertainment: $300 per month
Car payments: $330 per month
Mortgage payments: $570 per month
Credit card debt: $100 per month
School loan payments: $65 per month

Is it possible to retire by 50 with an income under $60,000? Ryan and Hope Wells think so.

Married since 2005, the young Arkansas couple is just starting out. Ryan, 25, works as a used car salesman, and Hope, 23, works as a medical billing coder at a hospital. Together they earn an annual $56,000 – above the national average, yet still not exactly easy street in today’s economy.

But with a little discipline, they think they can meet their goal of an early retirement. “I feel pretty comfortable with a target of a little over $2 million,” Ryan says.

It may sound ambitious, but the Wellses have a plan: put roughly 10% of their earnings toward retirement, 10% toward bills, 30% toward debt reduction, 15% into taxable mutual funds, and 35% to daily expenses and emergency savings.

The Wellses have a lot going for their finances. They’re young and have no kids yet. They live in Pottsville, Ark, an area that has one of the lowest costs of living in the country. And they’re aggressive investors for their age, currently putting $530 per month into stock-only mutual funds.

“Right now, I am really trying to build a strong foundation in our portfolio so that when children or anything else comes along, we are in a very strong position,” Ryan said.

But their financial picture isn’t all rosy. Like many American families, they’re saddled with credit card debt: about $4,500. But they continually roll their balances onto new 0% APR promotional credit cards to avoid paying interest. They plan on making steady payments of $100 a month and paying off their debt in less than four years.

They bought a one-year old used Ford Mustang for $19,000 about 4 months ago and put monthly payments of $330 toward the $17,500 left on the loan.

Ryan and Hope think they’ll be ready to start a family in about five years, but haven’t yet started planning for kids. Meanwhile, they’re working to pay off Hope’s student loans, which total $5,500.

For the more distant future, Ryan maxes out his IRA, which currently stands at about $22,000. His job doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan, but Hope has access to a company-sponsored plan through the hospital. She only contributes the 2% that her employer matches, but sometime in the near future she expects a promotion that could nearly double her salary. When her salary increases, she will also max out her retirement contribution.

“We each have some room to grow based on income potential,” said Ryan, who has fairly steady pay despite earning his entire salary on commission from car sales.

Ryan and Hope say their priority now is to replenish their emergency fund, which they recently depleted to pay down some debt, as the promotional period on one credit card was ending. They would like to get their savings up to about $10,000, or six months of expenses.

Our expert’s take

With their current plan, Ryan and Hope are on their way to millionaire status, but maybe not as soon as they’d like, according to Diana DeCharles, a Certified Financial Planner with AIG Financial Advisors.

She says that even with an aggressive 9% to 10% annual return on their investments, the Wellses will be worth about $1.3 million at age 50 – no small sum, but probably not enough to retire so young. And that’s at their current rate of savings, without any children in the picture. “Kids are pretty expensive,” DeCharles points out. Between higher costs and education savings, they might have to pull back on their aggressive saving once they have children.

DeCharles believes that the Wellses are smart to prioritize their emergency savings, which she recommends they keep in a money market fund with no stock exposure.

“Forget the funds for now,” DeCharles said. “Especially with the market heading down, they have to build up their cash reserves first.”

She also thinks the Wellses are managing their debt well, but they should be wary of opening too many cards. “Although they are moving their balances to new cards with 0% interest, if they continue to open new cards to do this they are bringing their credit score down,” she said. “Their credit score will take a hit for having cards that are maxed out, getting inquiry hits, and opening new cards.”

To save up, she suggests the Wellses cut into their monthly entertainment expenses. “Cook at home, or get movies from the library – they’re free!” said DeCharles.

But overall, DeCharles thinks Ryan and Hope are in a good position, even if they can’t retire by 50. “They’re doing pretty good, frankly. They did pretty well with their home, and it’s great that they’re saving so much.”

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

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