you got it z3bra! i keep my dotfile in a git repo (http://git.io/.files) then *IN* that repo i use the stow command to link the files into place. it keeps your home directory cleaner (no version control files in the root) and all the dotfiles in one place. so when i make changes to say my zsh aliases, i don't have to copy the file into the repo. i just update the file in the repo and the symlink makes the change virtually in place.