It depends on what direction you want take. You could purchase a $5/mo digital ocean server or a $5 raspberry pi and start by installing https://pi-hole.net, https://nextcloud.com, https://syncthing.net, https://www.plex.tv, or some other software to get the first (largest) thing you want resolved. Then move on from there and install the next package you need.
Ad blocking for your phone? VPN for work? Self hosted email? Retro gaming? Figure out what you want most and jump into that instead of trying to get everything all at once as it can be overwhelming to consider every system instead of taking one step at a time.
Ad blocking for your phone? VPN for work? Self hosted email? Retro gaming? Figure out what you want most and jump into that instead of trying to get everything all at once as it can be overwhelming to consider every system instead of taking one step at a time.