Home Server vs Cloud? Questions from a complete newbie.
Context:
I've run out of backup space on my external hard drives again. Currently using 1 hard drive for computer backups, photos & music (full), 1 hard drive for projects/files/resources (not backed up separately 😭, also full), and google and icloud services for file sharing and backing up basics like contacts/documents folder/etc.
Goal: A consolidated system to back-up and organize everything and still retain access. The two priorities are no huge monthly fees, and the safety and accessibility of my files. Being able to host my own website would be a plus but I'm not there yet anyway.
Options I've seen:
1. Derek Sivers has a great guide on tech independence here that seems to focus on cloud-based solutions: https://sive.rs/ti - it does require 3 subscriptions though the total cost seems ok. My concern is that this is kind of high-level for me, and maybe it's overkill if all I want out of it is to back-up and access files and documents?
- Buying/Building a home machine. This was my first option because it seems to fit with my needs (backup/storage/access), and the cost seems to be mostly upfront rather than subscription based. However after browsing the forums I'm worried that this option is again too advanced for me based on initial build, hardware maintenance, and safety/privacy issues.
I would appreciate anyone's advice on this, especially by anyone willing to dumb it down for me.
Thanks!