It would have been better if I had something better than dial-up internet.

There’s self-hosting that’s low risk but does remove some convenience. For example, I use a offline password manager. I keep a Veracrypt container on my computer that hosts that and a few other important files. When I make enough updates, I’ll throw a copy into Dropbox so I can save access it elsewhere. The disadvantage is that I cannot update the primary version from one of those other devices but, for me, that’s not really an issue.