(MONEY Magazine) – Rebecca & Christopher Gibbs of Hoboken, N.J. rarely miss a chance to invest in a tax-free account. For the past two years, the 32-year-olds have put as much as they can into nondeductible IRAs as well as into their 401(k)s. And they were first in line to take advantage of this year's higher IRA limit: On Jan. 2, both added $3,000 to their IRAs, which are heavily invested in two large-cap funds, Growth Fund of America and Washington Mutual. "We never even considered not maxing out," says Rebecca.

What's driving these prodigious savings habits is the feeling that they started late. In their former jobs--Rebecca managed fine restaurants before law school and Chris played drums in grunge bands before pursuing accounting--neither could squirrel away much money. "Right now, we have the most disposable income we're ever going to have," says Rebecca. That's why when their financial planner, O'Neil Anderson of Nemec Financial Group in New York City, told them they could open a 529 college savings plan in Chris' name and later transfer the account to a child, they jumped at the chance for more tax-sheltered investing, even though they have no kids. Their home state of New Jersey offers no deduction for 529 contributions, so they shopped around nationally. Since last year, they've put $300 a month into the Ohio 529 managed by Putnam.

--ERICA GARCIA