> Learning how to invest in tax-advantaged ways (backdoor 401k, tax loss harvesting, real estate transfers, trusts, donation funds, etc) is extremely complicated

I strongly disagree with this advice; middle class people trying to imitate rich people with trusts and financial advisors and so on are just letting leeches siphon off their money with fees.

Tax exempt investments are easy to find, they just pay less than taxable investments. If you're not in the top tax bracket, you're playing yourself.

Inheritance taxes only apply to the extremely rich anymore. Avoiding probate with a trust or something does not mean avoiding taxes.

>Most of it is "buy, borrow, die" with a lot of nuance to do it optimally

Oh, yeah, it's easy, step 1 is buy something, wait till it goes up. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it.