You’re hopefully saving for retirement through an IRA or 401K. That’s great. But there’s an even better, more tax-efficient way to save for the future: 529 accounts.

First, let me be clear: if you’re able to save for retirement through an IRA / 401K, I would save as much as possible through these vehicles up to the maximum legal limits.

But once you max out, people I know usually start investing in taxable brokerage accounts. If you’re doing this because you’re saving up to buy a home or some other medium-term financial need, that’s fine. But if you’re saving for longer-term investment goals, you’re potentially missing out on an additional tax-advantaged account: 529s.

529 plans allow you to save for your kids educational expenses, usually college (if you don’t have kids yet, see below). I don’t have to remind you that the cost of college today is astronomical and growing fast. So, if you have kids, you think they’ll go to college and you’re planning to help them pay for it, 529s are basically a no-brainer.

What are the benefits of a 529? They’re basically like a Roth IRA but even better. Like a Roth, you don’t pay taxes on your investment gains when you distribute the funds to pay for educational expenses and you don’t pay taxes on dividends along the way. But unlike and better than a Roth, over 30 states give you a state tax income tax deduction for 529 contributions. For example, married couples in New York can deduct state taxes on up to $10K in contributions, potentially worth more than $1,300 per year. So, overall, you get large tax benefits everywhere: on the contributions, the appreciation, and the distributions. Not bad.

Here’s the kicker. You do not need to have kids today to open a 529 plan for your future children! Because I’m a bit crazy, I opened one when I was 24. To do this, you set yourself as the beneficiary–you need to designate a beneficiary when you open the account–and then change it to your kids when they are born.

A few caveats: there are penalties to setting up a 529 and not using it for educational expenses so you should only invest through one if you’re planning to have kids or help pay for the education of a niece or nephew, for example. But if you do plan to pay for someone’s college expenses, I would strongly consider investing in a 529 even if you don’t have kids yet.

As always, this isn’t tax advice and I’d chat with your accountant before making any decisions here!