i was just wondering whats the best way to backup my Mac Mini. i currently have an external 512Gb that i use with Time Machine, but is that the best method to use today?

Perhaps your question should be asked in a Macintosh support forum on another web site?

I think the purpose of these forums is (as stated by @twostraws):

A welcoming place where everyone can come and ask questions, get answers, and talk about Swift.

I have found Time Machine to be rather reliable over the years, for the most part. It will start automatically deleting your oldest backups once your drive is full which can be problematic.

I also keep manual backups on separate drives. It all depends how important your data is to you.

A general rule for backups is the 3-2-1 rule:

https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/technology/3-2-1-backup-rule#:~:text=%20Here%E2%80%99s%20what%20the%203-2-1%20backup%20rule%20involves%3A,at%20least%20one%20backup%20file%20offsite.%20More%20

thanks Nigel, thats what i do as well, just wanted to make sure there were no significant advances i had missed.

Time Machine is great for recovering older versions of files, but I urge you to not rely on it as your sole backup. Time Machine eventually gets corrupted, at which point the entire backup is useless. The most venerable backup programs for Mac are SuperDuper https://shirt-pocket.com and Carbon Copy Cloner.