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)

1. Database Diet

   • Downsized from db.r5.2xlarge → db.t3.large
   • Enabled auto-scaling based on CPU pressure
   • Savings: $8k/month

2. EC2 Vampire Slayer

   • Automated start/stop schedules using Lambda + CloudWatch
   • Tagged resources for accountability
   • Savings: $4k/month

3. 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.)