It all depends. Cloud storage can save money for individuals too. It is an individual's choice whether the benefits outweigh the cost/risk (security) etc. I do use two-factor authentication.
It saves money for me because I no longer need my personal home computer to be powered 24/7 for remote access so I'm actually saving more money with a 1 terabyte cloud account because I can access my computer's files without my computer needing to be on anymore! Gaming PC use more than $100 per year of electricity costs while idling. And that's even assuming you're using free remote access such as Remote Desktop or VNC -- not paid services like GoToMyPC. (so that improves security in a sense).
Configuring my friend's computer to have their "My Documents" and "My Photos" folder automatically sync to the cloud was a BIG lifesaver. A year later, he had his laptop stolen. He thought his lifetime's repository of documents and photos were permanently lost! It was almost like throwing photo albums and file folder boxes into a fire. But I explained to him that the cloud can be accessed without the original computer. And I showed him how to prevent the thief from seeing his files (we logged onto the cloud service to redflag that computer -- to autodelete when the laptop thief next went onto WiFi. Most thieves aren't experienced enough to prevent that sort of thing). But the cloud was like a fireproof safe to my friend. Not everyone is smart enough to back up their files, the cloud actually improved HIS security AND saved his ass. Imagine if it was your mom's or dad's computer, and they don't know what "backup" means.
Carrying an external hard drive around so everything's always with you, can subject it to damage and lost files (all the way back to the last backup you did) while the cloud service replication (and undelete capabilities) provides a measure of safety from common individual backup habits too. With cloud, peace of mind of having your files automatically backed instantly is nice (mind you, should not completely replace airgapped offline backup). Many cloud services also give you unlimited "undo", so if you accidentally overwrite a file from any of your apps, or accidentally delete a photo or important document, you can revert or undelete, with the cloud's file-journalled revision history, since for a file of 1 megabyte on a 50/10 connection, a photo is already backed up to the cloud in approximately 1-2 seconds after your cameraphone's shutter button, and if you accidentally delete the photo afterwards on your phone, it's still possible to logon (two factor) onto the cloud and undelete it, as an example. Same for homework or photo edit, etc. Malware is more common on PCs than on cloud services, so file theft risk is still there even if you don't use cloud services.
You've seen iCloud on television where it replicates photos to all your favourite devices. But iCloud is a bit inflexible. Now instead imagine it being able to do it cross-platform (Mac/PC/iOS/Android). Now imagine it doing it on any filetype, not just Apple-sanctioned ones. Now imagine it with unlimited file history undo/undelete/rollback (file journalling revision control) on all of the devices. Never lose text in an accidentally saved document, or mis-edit of a photo, since each file revision is immediately backed up to the cloud upon saving the file in any of your favourite PC/Mac apps. Now imagine it doing it to anything you do (Word files, PhotoShop files, Visual Studio/Eclipse, saved food recipies, old-fashioned savegame files not synced by Steam, video project, etc) so you can edit a big multi-file project on one computer and resume editing on a different computer just seconds later. Now imagine having no size limits (cloud as big as your biggest hard disk). Now imagine also having selective sync (if you don't want offline access on all devices, e.g. space-starved SSD laptops). Several cloud services now exist that give you all the above benefits simultaneously. If you want just simple, iCloud is easy to understand, but it also goes well beyond that.
One can still continue to use an external HDD. In fact, it can be used to speed up a cloud service. I sometimes use a USB3 thumbdrive SSD to sneakernet my files quickly, and I can even copy it to the same folder the cloud service would normally sync over. The cloud recognizes I've now precopied the files (identical files are recognized, via a hashing technique). This is what I do when I've got many gigabytes of files to transfer from computer A to B, and don't want to wait for the cloud to sync it over. Most cloud services let you manually accelerate syncing that way. And then the external HDD or thumbdrive can be the offline backup, kept in a good safekeeping location rather than at risk of loss in a forgotten backpack (yes, you can use disk encryption to increase safety, but not everyone does).
All sorts of tradeoffs happen -- so it is an individual decision, and it is all about convenience. If the risk or expense is not worth it, don't use it. But it lowers cost and lower overall risk (file loss/security/etc), saves valuable time, and makes life more fun, for my non-work cases.
The cloud is not just for work anymore, the cloud can also sync your mom|dad|friend's "My Documents" and "My Photos" folders so she doesn't have to remember to backup when her laptop breaks, hard disk fails, or gets stolen. And you don't have to play "IT support" as often for new-computer, new-phone, or new-tablet setup. Or when she accidentally overwrote or deleted a Word document and asks you how to go back. Many cloud services have search boxes that lets you find the right file or right missing file. (You know how less experienced people sometimes saves files in the wrong location, too). Now it's just a simple search box on a cloud service to find an old file revision, a couple clicks, and the missing file reappears back on her computer in the right location on her computer -- without needing remote desktop hoop jumping -- and without needing to interrupt my dinner or work to do some emergency IT support. Etc. Everyone happier because files so easy to find and recover. Not everybody in a family is always computer-literate, and a cloud service nicely solves the "race over for some emergency IT" problems for more than half of the situations! A car ride removed from the road (here, I finally stayed on Transportation topic -- ha).
Anyway, back onto topic. I hope Bell considers bringing fiber to Hamilton eventually. Fibe arrived a few years after it did to Toronto.
