How I Saved a Startup $15k/month on AWS Without Downtime

The Problem [StartupX] was burning $32k/month on AWS due to: Database Overkill: RDS instances running at 15% utilization Zombie Servers: 12 EC2 instances left running for "future needs" Static Scaling: Angular app crashing during traffic spikes The Fix (3 Tactics Anyone Can Use) Database Diet Downsized from db.r5.2xlarge → db.t3.large Enabled auto-scaling based on CPU pressure Savings: $8k/month EC2 Vampire Slayer Automated start/stop schedules using Lambda + CloudWatch Tagged resources for accountability Savings: $4k/month Frontend Tune-Up Lazy-loaded Angular modules Moved static assets to CloudFront Bonus: Load time dropped from 4s → 1.2s Results Total Saved: $15k/month (recurring) Implementation Time: 12 hours Zero Downtime: Changes deployed during maintenance windows "Similar fixes start at $1.5k. DM me on Twitter [@YourCloudHandle] for a free audit." (Note: Client details anonymized. Your results may vary.)

Mar 30, 2025 - 22:34

[StartupX] was burning $32k/month on AWS due to:

Database Diet
- Downsized from db.r5.2xlarge → db.t3.large
- Enabled auto-scaling based on CPU pressure
- Savings: $8k/month
EC2 Vampire Slayer
- Automated start/stop schedules using Lambda + CloudWatch
- Tagged resources for accountability
- Savings: $4k/month
Frontend Tune-Up
- Lazy-loaded Angular modules
- Moved static assets to CloudFront
- Bonus: Load time dropped from 4s → 1.2s

"Similar fixes start at $1.5k. DM me on Twitter [@YourCloudHandle] for a free audit."

(Note: Client details anonymized. Your results may vary.)