Keeping hardware running 24/7 cheaply is difficult. Expanding an existing setup is expensive. Consumer grade ISP’s will block unexpected network protocols sometimes seemingly for no reason. Dynamic DNS isn’t super robust, so several times I went on vacation and the DNS service would flake. Maybe it’s better if you pay more for it, but I have no complaints about my VPS. It’s nice to be able to just reliably reach my web stuff and not worry a cat bumped the power cable.

It is possible to use a dynamic DNS service. They’re typically pretty cheap. I did for several years. It kind of sucked so I rented a VPS.

In my limited experience, there are basically two flavors of Linux:

1. Latest software, everything’s available but it breaks a lot.
2. Doesn’t update frequently, might have to be cautious with third-party software but very stable.

As I’ve gotten busier, my preference for stable distros like Debian has grown. I think there’s also a lot of value in trying for due diligence the first time you install a distro. It’s much simpler to take the time and do it correctly than to try and fix it afterwards. Sometimes it takes a few attempts to get everything set up correctly, but it’s worth it long term.