My First Week with AWS Free Tier: 3 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
Best tips for beginners using the Free Tier
When I created my AWS Free Tier account, I was excited to start experimenting. But within the first week, I made three mistakes that almost cost me my credits. Here is what I learned, so you can avoid them.
1. I forgot to set a budget alert.
I launched an EC2 instance to practice, got distracted, and left it running for two days. I did not realize that even a small instance consumes credits hour by hour. The fix: Go to AWS Budgets and create a "Zero Spend Budget" alert. It takes 2 minutes and can save you real money.
I launched an EC2 instance to practice, got distracted, and left it running for two days. I did not realize that even a small instance consumes credits hour by hour. The fix: Go to AWS Budgets and create a "Zero Spend Budget" alert. It takes 2 minutes and can save you real money.
2. I used the root user for everything.
It was easy to just log in with my main account and click around. But AWS best practices say you should never use the root user for daily tasks. I created an IAM user with administrator permissions and started using that instead. It is more secure, and it helped me understand IAM, which is a key topic for the CLF-C02 exam.
It was easy to just log in with my main account and click around. But AWS best practices say you should never use the root user for daily tasks. I created an IAM user with administrator permissions and started using that instead. It is more secure, and it helped me understand IAM, which is a key topic for the CLF-C02 exam.
3. I did not clean up after my labs.
After creating an S3 bucket and an RDS database, I just closed the browser. The next day, I saw that the database was still running. I learned to always terminate resources when I finish practicing. Now I have a checklist: stop EC2 instances, delete S3 objects, delete RDS databases.
After creating an S3 bucket and an RDS database, I just closed the browser. The next day, I saw that the database was still running. I learned to always terminate resources when I finish practicing. Now I have a checklist: stop EC2 instances, delete S3 objects, delete RDS databases.
My advice for beginners:
- Set your budget alert before you touch anything else.
- Create an IAM admin user and use it every day.
- Treat every lab like it is production: clean up when you are done.
The AWS Free Tier is an amazing opportunity to learn. With these three habits, you can practice safely and focus on what matters: preparing for your certification.
Has anyone else made similar mistakes? What is your best tip for beginners using the Free Tier?
Enjoyed reading this content? Let the author know!
Your likes, comments, shares, and saves help creators reach more builders.
Loading recommendations
Loading article