3 Rules to Keep Your AWS Free Tier Bill at $0
When you're starting out on AWS, the easiest mistake to make is leaving a test resource running and waking up to an unexpected bill. Here are three simple habits every junior dev should set up on day one.
#1. Set a $1 Budget Alert Immediately
Before spinning up any service, automate your warnings:
- Go to Billing and Cost Management → Budgets.
- Click Create budget and pick the Zero-spend budget template (or set a $1.00 threshold).
- Add your email. You’ll get an alert the second anything bills you.
#2. Beware the "Hidden" Charges
A few sneaky resources cost money even if you aren't actively using them:
- Unattached Elastic IPs: AWS charges for public IPs that sit idle. If you terminate an EC2 instance, release its Elastic IP.
- NAT Gateways: These are not free tier. For learning VPCs, stick to public subnets or internet gateways.
- Orphaned EBS Volumes: Always verify your root volume deletes when you terminate an instance.
#3. Build a "Tear Down" Habit
Treat your AWS sandbox like local code:
- If you don't need it running overnight, shut it down.
- For small prototypes, try AWS Lambda and serverless services first—they only charge when invoked, making them much harder to leave running by accident.
Question for the community: What was the first AWS service that surprised you with a charge, and how did you fix it? Let's share tips in the comments below!
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