diff --git a/common/_global.el b/common/_global.el
index 8bdbb82..6fd2090 100644
--- a/common/_global.el
+++ b/common/_global.el
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@
 (ido-mode 1)
 (setq-default tab-width 4) ; sanity!
 (electric-indent-mode 0) ; return should NOT fuck with the indentation of the previous line
-(setq backup-directory-alist `(("." . "~/.emacs.d/saves"))) ; Move the auto backups to a dedicated 'zone'
+(setq backup-directory-alist `(("." . (expand-file-name "saves" user-emacs-directory)))) ; Move the auto backups to a dedicated 'zone'
 (setq backup-by-copying t) ; safest form of backup file creation
 ; Config backups so we have *more*, not less
 (setq delete-old-versions t