Time Machine is not really complicated, but if you do not want to use it, then...
Carbon Copy Cloner is a paid app that is highly respected backup utility that can make a bootable clone of your Mac or just backup parts of your Mac.
Carbon Copy Cloner does have a 1 month demo period where it is fully functional, and any backups it makes during that period continue to be functional after the demo period.
SuperDuper! is also a well respected paid app that can make a bootable clone of your Mac. SuperDuper always be used to make a full clone of your Mac for free. You only need to pay for SuperDuper if you want the incremental backup and scheduling options.
For what you want to do, SuperDuper! might be the way to go.
I own copies of both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! Both apps have saved me from disaster more than once over the years.
Going forward, you should be thinking about running backups on a normal basis, at least for your content that cannot be replaced, such as family photos, documents, etc...
Time Machine is an excellent backup utility that will constantly keep your Mac backed up. If you are using a Mac laptop and you often move it around, then maybe you should think about a cloud backup service. There are many out there besides Apple's iCloud.
But if nothing else, at least use something like SuperDuper! to make a full clone every so often, so you will not loose everything should something go wrong. Where wrong, can be mechanical failure, natural disaster (flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, etc...), theft.
