Setting Up an AWS Budget

Imagine you're exploring a buffet with delicious dishes. 😋

You have a limited number of plates - if you grab take too much, you'll run out of plates and have to pay! At the buffet, you can see right in front of you how many plates you have left. Using services on AWS is like going to a buffet with a limited number of plates.

But, when AWS services are running on the cloud, you can't see these plates in front of you. Charges can quietly rack up when you're not watching. We've had students accidentally get charged $$$ because they've left their AWS services running in the background!

That's why when you're using AWS, it's important to watch your usage to avoid unexpected costs.

Manage costs with AWS Budgets

AWS Budgets can send you alerts when you're about to exceed how much you're willing to spend.

There are two types of AWS Budgets:

• Zero Spend Budget: use this option to get alerted when you're about to finish up the free resources in your Free Tier account.
• Monthly Spend Budget: if you're willing to spend money on your AWS account but have a  spending limit in mind, this budget keeps you in check.

We'll show you how to create both types of budgets in the exercise!

Tracking with the AWS Billing Console

To check your Free Tier usage, head over to the AWS Billing Console. It's your trusty sidekick in this monitoring adventure. Here's how:

1. Open the Billing Console.
2. Click on "Free Tier" in the left-hand navigation pane.
3. Now you'll see a table with details about your Free Tier usage, including forecasted usage for each service limit.