At least the 401k, IRA, and HSA don't require knowing anything particularly arcane. Money goes in, don't touch until 59 1/2 (401k, IRA) or 65 (HSA).

529 plans can get a bit more complicated because you'll want one from your state (if your state has an income tax) and they may offer several, but then it's less about knowing tax code specifics than about what the differences are between their offerings.

right, it’s not that arcane at all. I discovered all this over a couple weekends in my 20s. Started on reddit, then moved on to more official guides and books. I spent maybe 5 weekends in total doing this learning.

It’s really not that hard and i don’t understand why more people aren’t interested. Let’s reframe for a minute…if i said a high earner could retire a year earlier, or maybe even a few years earlier just by learning some semi-advanced tax strategies. Should they do so? Yeah. They’d be crazy not to lol.

For a beginner it's hard to tell which information is trustworthy and which is a sales pitch.

529s are also capped based on the recipient, not donor.

Is it really x% of the profits? Most of the investment and financial advising services that I've had pitched to me (although that's not too many, tbh) seem to charge x% of your portfolio, and if their sage advice doesn't create a return greater than x% then sucks to be you.

> what they're getting you back

Even that is not a simple thing. What’s your benchmark? Is that the right benchmark for you and your goals? Agency has a cost.