<prompt> Human: EDIT: Thanks, everyone, for all the advice! It seems a lot of what I need to do is contribute to my 401K and look into ROTH IRAs. Ill be doing as such. Thanks again!So, Im a tax idiot. I grew up very sheltered and my parents took care of everything and never taught me step 1 about money management. Made a lot of money at a young age yay dotcom boom! and blew it all. For my taxes, I just fill out a 1040ez every year, claim 1 deduction, and tend to break even. I make quite a bit of money and pay a lot in taxes. Are there any good primers on good ways to save on your taxes, claim deductions, etc? Should I just pony up a few hundred and go to a tax accountant?Not quite sure what to do. Claimed 2 this entire year last year and owed 5100 in Federal taxes. Possible relevant info: Age: 33 Income: Base salary of 120K bonuses Software developer. Should end up at around 135K this year. Residence: I rent. Live just south of Boulder. Pay 1340 a month for a 2 bedroom, I work from home sometimes. Commute: I drive 70 minutes each way to work in Fort Collins. Relationship Status: Single, but plan on getting married to my girlfriend in the next year or two. Investments: None Debt: Paying off CC debt for the girlfriend, that should be done in the next few months and then I can play with probably 3K-4K a month extra. Total budget: I use mint, and my monthly budget right now is about 3700 after rent, food, gas, auto payment, cell phone, etc, but before personal spending money. Were planning on cutting that down in OctoberNovember to about 2500 a month smaller place, lower food budgets, less fun money, etc to save up for a down payment on a house.Any thoughts or advice? Ive read some stuff, but Im not sure where to start.Thanks in advance!  <response>: Pay an accountant to do your taxes and advise you on how to minimize them. Every year. If you continue to have good cash flow, there will almost certainly be a time that having a skilled accountant involved in your finances will more than pay for everything you spent on them in the past.If you do get financial advice, get the per-hour kind not some investment manager type. 