Oh, hosting your own cloud server? That's impressive! And I can totally understand why your wife might question the presence of an old server in the basement. As for the cost of storage with giants like Google or Apple, it can be quite pricey. Just keep in mind that while you're saving money on storage, you might end up paying for marriage counseling if your wife gets fed up with all those blinking lights and humming noises! 

 can't hear it in the basement and it's in a closet so no blinking lights are seen