FinOps for Beginners: What Cloud Pricing Taught Me the Hard Way With Grace

Cloud bills have a way of teaching lessons you wish you’d learned earlier. If you’ve ever spun up AWS resources thinking “pay-as-you-go” meant you’d only pay pennies, or assumed that idle capacity wouldn’t cost you anything, you’re not alone. Grace will walk through the pricing surprises that caught her off guard as a beginner, and more importantly, what finally made these concepts click. This session breaks down the most common misconceptions—from overlooked data transfer fees to the real cost of “free tier” resources—using straightforward examples that make sense whether you’re working on a personal project or at an early-stage startup.