Saving for a Seagate External Hard Drive

With files piling up on my computer, I knew it was time to start saving for an external hard drive. I used to backup most files on my computer at least once per month and now try to backup the most important files once per week. However, $150 to $200 for an external hard drive meant I needed to take a little while to save up. My budget simply couldn't take that much of a hit at one time, especially with several birthdays within two months.

Choosing My Drive

The first step before creating any savings plan was to choose the external hard drive I wanted to save up for. I started on Yahoo Shopping so I could compare prices. Most of the drives I looked at were available through Amazon, which was perfect so I could read reviews to determine quality. I must admit I was already slightly biased having owned a Seagate in the past and a family member highly recommending Western Digital.

I narrowed down the long list of results by filtering by the size I wanted. Since I planned to keep at least three full backups at any given time, plus smaller backups during the course of each month, I wanted something large enough to easily handle whatever I threw at it. My current 1 TB Seagate has become my external music drive and video drive, so I knew the bigger the better when it comes to space. This led me to choose drives with at least 3 TB of space.

With great reviews and past positive experience, my choice was easy. I chose the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk v 2.0 3 TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive in black. The price ranged anywhere from $129.99 to $199.99, which fit within my $200 or less range I originally set for myself.

The Savings Plan

I started by choosing two retailers to watch. The manufacturer is usually highest so I eliminated Seagate immediately. I then noticed Amazon was the cheapest on a regular basis. Staples also offered regular sales and coupons for Seagate drives, making them a competitor for my business. I set my goal for mid-October and decided to buy the drive from whomever was cheapest during the last few weeks of October.

As a freelance writer, I write for several clients and websites. Two sites are for extra spending money only, such as gifts or splurging on the latest tech gadget. I decided to use all my earnings from a single site to put aside for the drive. I began my journey in August. To avoid temptation, all earnings from this site went immediately into a savings account so I couldn't spend the money.

Since I'm fairly impatient, I set aside an extra two hours each week to devote to this particular site. This added approximately $20 in revenue payments after a single month. It also added around $50 extra per month in upfront payments. In just two months, my additional earnings alone were enough to cover my hard drive.

I'm continuing to set aside all earnings from this site, both upfront payments and revenue share, in a savings account. This has become my splurge fund for whatever I really want or need. Instead of having to wait, next time I can take advantage of any deals upfront when I find them. It also serves as a great fund for buying gifts for others.

For those who don't write, saving for tech gadgets is as easy as deteriming how important an item is to you on a scale of 1-10. This is the percentage you set aside each week. This is the smallest amount you set aside. If you want extra, consider trading in old tech gadgets for gift cards, trade-in credit or even cash. Not only do you eliminate clutter, but you get a little extra towards your next gadget.