You could also get one of the SSD drives that look like flash storage. I got a “usb stick” with 512GB SSD for about $60 last year.

I’m trying to get back into HAM after 30 years out of it. Starting with meshtastic let’s me play around without spending a lot on hardware, and before I get my license back.

There are great prebuilt nodes for under $50, and as low as $20 if you build your own from parts.