It’s incredible how much the prices have fallen and that’s how it should be. Sure, I bought the 960 close to launch but still the difference is staggering.
The 960 Evo still chugs along albeit it’s a new one because a few months after I bought it, I had to RMA it. I guess that’s what happens when you are an early adopter. I lost a few hours of work when the original 960 Evo decided to stop working but it also taught me to be more paranoia with backups.
I’ve had SD cards fail catastrophically though, unlike ssds and hdds.
Your experience isn’t wrong, it is more likely to happen, however, if you prioritize portability, SD Cards and USBs are great for that and inconspicuous if you go somewhere public or need to share something with someone at school without drawing too much attention.