Step-by-step

🌅 Welcome to Your Weekly Cloud Cost Efficiency Newsletter!

Hi there,

In this newsletter, I’ll guide you through a friendly, step-by-step approach to managing AWS costs efficiently. Think of this as a simple daily checklist to keep your cloud environment optimized without needing deep technical knowledge. Let’s take each day as it comes!

📊 Monitoring Monday: Start with Observing

Monday is all about getting a clear view of where your AWS costs are coming from. Jump into the AWS Cost Explorer and check out what you spent last week and last month.

Here’s your to-do for Monday:

1. Do you have access to AWS Cost Explorer? If not, now’s the time to set it up.

2. Spot any unusual spending trends? Jot them down!

3. See which services are costing the most. Focus on the big-ticket items.

4. Identify specific resources contributing to those costs. Are there any surprises?

Congrats! You’re starting the week off with clarity and focus on what’s costing you the most.

💡 Tuning Tuesday: Take Action to Save

After observing, today is all about fine-tuning for savings. Think small actions for big impact.

Did you know that reducing a single instance by just a dollar each day adds up to $365 in savings over the year? It’s true!

A few examples:

• Consider downgrading any instances that are barely being used (look for usage below 25%).

• Review backup policies in non-production environments – do you need all those backups?

These little adjustments make a huge difference over time!

⚙️ Workflow Wednesday: Automate and Save Time

Automation isn’t just for tech experts. By automating basic tasks, you’ll not only save time but also avoid surprise costs.

Here’s a first step for you: enable Billing Alerts and Billing Alarms so you’re instantly notified of unexpected costs. Setting up a few of these alerts ensures you won’t be caught off guard by a sudden spike in costs.

Here’s a quick guide to set up billing alerts and alarms.

🎓 Training Thursday: Invest in Learning

Every bit of learning is a step toward better control over your AWS spending. Today, take just 15 minutes to explore a topic related to AWS cost management.

Where to start?

• AWS documentation is a great, free resource.

• Consider short online courses, like those on Udemy, to strengthen your AWS FinOps skills.

Just a few minutes each week adds up to valuable insights over time!

🧹 Freshen Friday: Clean Up to Save

The end of the week is a perfect time to tidy up your cloud environment. Remove anything outdated or no longer needed – think of this as decluttering for your AWS setup.

Here’s where to look for example:

• S3 Buckets: Any objects or buckets no longer in use?

• Backups: Do you have old RDS backups or EC2 snapshots you can delete?

A clean AWS environment keeps costs down and ensures you’re not paying for storage or resources you don’t need.

Remember, even small steps add up over time! Keep up the great work!

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Got any questions or found something particularly useful? Hit reply and let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

See you next time!
David