HT3275 TIme Machine deleting files I deleted from my home drive

This seems like a very basic problem but I cant find an answer and am no longer able to use Apple Support.  I am trying to erase files from my very crowded home drive.  I bought an external drive and backed up all fikles there.  However, now when I delete files from my home drive and plug in the external drive, Time Machine delets the files I deleted from my home drive on the external drive which defeats my purpose.  Can anyone help a hopelsessly tech savvyless stranger.
Thanks So much

Copy the files to the external drive in the Finder instead of going through Time Machine. If you want that drive to have a bootable OS, you'll need to use software such as Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper.
Time Machine backups are designed for recovery of accidentally or inadvertently deleted files. They aren't meant for primary storage of files you don't want on any other drive. In any case, drives eventually fail; anything you want to keep shouldn't be on only one drive.
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    Message was edited by: Dan D\'Errico

    Dan D'Errico wrote:
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