00:00Are you looking to save money on your AWS bill but not too sure where to begin?
00:03Well, you've come to the right place because in this video, I'll be sharing with you five simple ways to
00:08start cutting down your cloud expenses today.
00:10Now, these aren't just going to be random tips.
00:12These are tried and tested methods I personally recommended to AWS customers during my time as a solutions architect.
00:17So whether you're new to AWS or you've been working with cloud for some time now, keep watching because you're
00:22going to want to hear these strategies.
00:24Okay, here's the thing. When it comes to cost in AWS, it all boils down to two main factors.
00:29Usage and rate. The cost of your AWS bill is equal to how much you use multiplied by the rate
00:34that they charge.
00:35And so you can either optimize usage by making sure you're only using what you need or you can optimize
00:39for your rate by paying less for what you use.
00:41Sounds interesting, right? But before we dive into the top five ways, I want to give a quick shout out
00:46to Antimetal, a company dedicated to helping you significantly trim down your AWS bill.
00:50With Antimetal, you can effortlessly save up to 75% on AWS.
00:54You don't need any engineering skills and you don't have to sign any contracts to get started.
00:58All it takes is one click and 30 seconds to get your savings automated.
01:02We all love a good discount from time to time, but I think the way Antimetal works is even more
01:06interesting.
01:06By using an AI model, they analyze a bunch of factors from your account to make sure you get the
01:11most out of every dollar that you spend.
01:12All you need to do is approve Antimetal's recommendations and they take care of the rest.
01:17During my two years as a solutions architect, I came to realize something.
01:20Many large companies who use AWS actually have a team dedicated to optimizing and managing their cloud expenses.
01:25That's how important it is for them to save money.
01:28But if you're like me and don't have a full team behind you, Antimetal can stand out as the go
01:32-to solution.
01:33Oh, and by the way, Antimetal is free for all startups.
01:36So make sure you head over to antimetal.com forward slash techwithlucy to get started with reducing your AWS bill.
01:42Thank you Antimetal for partnering with me on this video.
01:44Okay, so tip number one is to delete unused resources.
01:47This may sound obvious, but if you don't delete resources that are no longer needed, they can quietly eat into
01:52your budget.
01:53Old instances, snapshots, and volumes, all of this can quickly add up.
01:57When I worked at AWS, I often saw clients neglect old resources.
02:00If they had taken the time to monitor these resources, they would have been able to save a decent chunk
02:05of their AWS bill.
02:06Regularly monitoring your resources and removing those that are not in use can help you make sure you don't waste
02:11any money.
02:11This also applies if you're a student or individual developer.
02:14You might discover that you have temporary projects that you've forgotten about still lingering in your AWS account.
02:19One tool I'd recommend for this is the AWS Trusted Advisor.
02:22It can help you identify unused resources and recommend ways to optimize your infrastructure.
02:27Now, if we think back to our equation from earlier, cost equals to usage multiplied by rate.
02:32And so by deleting unused resources, we're directly decreasing our usage, which in turn lowers our overall cost.
02:38The next tip is to right-size your instances.
02:41Right-sizing is all about matching your resources with the actual workload needs.
02:44You can kind of think of it like wearing the right-sized shoes.
02:47Anything too big or too small can be uncomfortable.
02:49Similarly, if you use instances that are larger than what's required, it can lead to unnecessary cost.
02:55So what we want to do here is identify resources with low utilization.
02:59By stopping or right-sizing these resources, we can reduce the cost.
03:02For example, let's say I'm using a T4G large instance where my rate is about $0.67 per hour.
03:08If I find out that I actually just need a T4G medium instance instead, then my new rate goes down
03:13to $0.3 per hour, which is only half of what I paid for.
03:17To identify underutilized instances, you can check out the AWS Cost Explorer, a service that lets you understand and manage
03:23your AWS cost over time.
03:25And this tip ties right back to our formula.
03:27Cost equals to usage times my rate.
03:29By right-sizing your instances and bringing down the rate, you're able to directly lower the cost.
03:33My third tip is to reserve and commit whenever possible.
03:36Reserving instances and committing to them for the long term can lead to significant cost savings.
03:41AWS offers reserved instances and savings plans, and both options can provide massive discounts compared to the standard on-demand
03:48pricing.
03:48For consistent workloads that you know will be around for a while, such as one to three years, reserving and
03:54committing them can be a game-changer.
03:55You're essentially buying in bulk and locking them at a discounted rate.
03:59As you can see here, with AWS Savings Plans, you can save up to 72% with a flexible pricing
04:04model.
04:05You can choose between Compute, EC2 and SageMaker plans.
04:08But be careful, because over-committing can actually end up costing you more.
04:11What I mean by this is, if you lock yourself into more resources than you need, then you might find
04:15yourself stuck with unnecessary expenses.
04:18You may still be getting a discount, but you're spending more than you have to.
04:21The key here is to carefully evaluate your long-term needs and only commit to what you actually use.
04:25Another way to optimise usage and save costs is to enable AWS auto-scaling.
04:30Auto-scaling is all about automatically scaling your resources to meet demand.
04:34By having AWS automatically adjust your resource levels up and down, you can make sure you're never over-provisioning or
04:40under-provisioning.
04:40This way, you only pay for what you use.
04:42Auto-scaling is available at no extra cost, and once you set it up, you'll be able to find the
04:47perfect balance between performance and cost.
04:49Now tip number five is to schedule on and off times for your resources.
04:52If you have any instances that don't need to be running 24-7, then turning them off is like turning
04:57off lights when you leave a room.
04:59It saves cost and it saves energy.
05:00For example, if you have an instance that only needs to run during 9-5 business hours on Monday to
05:05Friday,
05:06then you can save up to 70% by stopping the instance during the weekends and during the evenings.
05:11One useful tool for this is the AWS Instance Scheduler.
05:14It automatically handles the scheduling process for you so that you don't have to automatically turn your instances on and
05:19off.
05:19Alright, now that we've covered the fundamental cost-saving strategies, here are three bonus tips that will help you save
05:24even more on AWS in the long run.
05:26The first one is to utilize the AWS free tier whenever possible.
05:29This lets you experiment with new ideas without spending any money.
05:32The second one is to stay up to date with the latest changes in AWS services and prices.
05:37By keeping an eye out on what's new, you can take advantage of the changes that could lower your cost.
05:41And bonus tip number three is to consider leveraging third-party tools or consulting services like Antimetal.
05:46This can offer a fresh perspective and help you uncover hidden insights.
05:50So there you have it.
05:50Five simple ways to save money on your AWS bill, plus some bonus tips to help you cut down your
05:55cost even more.
05:56Don't forget to check out Antimetal in the description below to leverage their amazing offer for startups.
06:00If you found this video helpful, please remember to give it a like.
06:03And as always, I'll see you in the next one.
06:05Bye for now!
