Read, read, and read some more - everything under “Pool School” and any pertinent threads for chemicals, balancing, testing, equipment. Review the kinds of pools from plaster to vinyl, etc., and all the different equipment and lighting and water features you can utilize. If you know of things ahead of time you can save time or aggravation by building it right from the start. Most people on here would encourage you to put in a SWG from the get-go and certainly if you have the money it’s a very nice convenience. (I myself don’t have one and we may be moving within the next 6 -8 years so will hold off on it, but if we were building new today we would consider one.)
But as for being a good owner of a pool and its maintenance, I can’t stress enough Pool School and every possible link to learn how to maintain it best. I remember I printed out sooooo much info from this forum and organized it into a binder with sections for each topic. It made it easier to quickly find the explanation or instructions for something we had read in one of the threads. We referred to that binder every week for four straight seasons, until we understood and knew it so well we no longer had to. All of that homework and studying paid off. We have had such an easy time taking care of our pool and saved so far over the past 13 years well over $30,000 in maintenance costs and chemicals. Our original liner lasted 17 years before we replaced it this spring, that’s how well TFPC takes care of water.
Be willing to take the necessary time to learn and understand what you need to. It’s only overwhelming at first in learning, but in practice it’s easy peasy and you’ll come to love this forum, being ever so thankful for all who keep it going.