Upgrade Advice needed for OSX, HD, SSD, Time Machine

I apologize for the long post. I tried to be specific and clear.

Currently I have a mid-2011 iMac, 2.7 ghz i5, 1TB 7200 rpm, 4 gig RAM and an external 1TB Seagate goFlex portable drive with the Thunderbolt adapter add on which is my Time Machine backup drive. I'm using OS 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. My HD is about half full. I'm not ready to upgrade to Maverick yet since it is still a very new OS.

What is the best way to be able to use my current programs with an updated OS and a new SSD with HD as basically my storage drive and continue to use Time Machine on my external portable?

I want to add an internal SSD 256 gig (probably a Crucial M500). I have built desktops and have the skills to do this with the help of watching youtube video installs. The SSD will be my boot drive and used for several programs currently installed on my HD such as Adobe Creative Suite, Word suite, a few games, and video editing. All this is currently backed up on Time Machine.

This is where I need advice. I want to upgrade to Mountain Lion. Should I upgrade the OS on the HD first, then install the SSD? If this is the case will Time Machine be able to transfer the OS and programs I want to the SSD? or should I install the SSD then do a clean install of the new OS on it? If so, will the "new" Time machine be able to transfer the programs I want to the SSD? Would I have to do a new complete backup before the transfer with the "new" Time Machine? I no longer have some of the program disks and do not want to lose the programs.
or does it matter which way? Is one better than the other?

Or is there a better/easier way to accomplish my goal?

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

Upgrade Advice needed for OSX, HD, SSD, Time Machine

If my questions have been answered elsewhere please let me know. I'm still not sure of the best way to upgrade my system.

Does anyone know if it would be simpler to just upgrade the OS on the HD, back it up with Time Machine, create a Fusion drive, then just reinstall everything with Time Machine? The speed of a Fusion drive should not be significantly less than having a SSD and HD?

 

Upgrade Advice needed for OSX, HD, SSD, Time Machine

Thanks yjchua95. That sounds like an easy solution. I like to wait a while before going with something new, like OS Maverick, so all the bugs can be worked out and there are no surprises.

Can you clarify a couple things?:
"Then, put the SSD into the iMac and clean install Mavericks via a bootable installer (google up on how to make one with a USB stick). After that, plug in the Time Machine drive and restore."

1. I think I read somewhere that I can install Mountain Lion via a bootable installer with a USB stick. Can you confirm this?

2. Will Time Machine allocate files between the two drives? I have never used Time Machine.

3. or should I install new the OS on the 256 Gig SSD then use Time Machine to restore to the 1 TB 7200 rpm HD? This would give me ML on both drives and I would select the SSD as the boot drive. Will my programs utilize the speed of the SSD this way? or will I need to use Setup Assistant, Migration Assistant, or something else, after the restore, to make additional changes? Again I have never used Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant before.

Thanks again for your help!

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Thanks Weasleboy. I just read your reply. Is ML capable of doing the same thing?