How can I use AWS student credits without accidentally running up a bill?

Make cleanup easy and predictable. Track everything you create, tag resources, and check that instances, databases, disks, load balancers, NAT gateways, and snapshots are removed when a project ends. Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or OpenTofu can help you recreate and tear down environments instead of forgetting manually created resources.

Be careful with publicly reachable services. An exposed server or API can attract automated traffic and create unexpected data-transfer or compute costs. Restrict access with security groups and authentication, avoid making resources public unless necessary, and consider disabling unused regions. Only enable the services and regions you actually need.

Treat your AWS credentials like production secrets. Enable MFA, protect the root account, and use an everyday identity managed through IAM Identity Center. Don’t put access keys in source code, .env files, or repositories, and avoid long-lived programmable keys when possible. Keep permissions strict and never blindly apply configurations generated by an AI tool.

Set up billing budgets and alerts before creating resources. Use several thresholds, such as $20 and $50, and review Cost Explorer regularly rather than waiting for the end of the month. Alerts are warnings, not automatic spending limits, so you still need to investigate and shut down anything unnecessary.

For learning projects, start with inexpensive architectures and calculate the normal monthly cost without assuming the free tier will last forever. Static hosting with S3 and CloudFront plus small serverless functions can cost far less than leaving EC2 and RDS running all day. Use one low-cost region where practical, stop nonessential resources when you’re not using them, and be especially cautious with RAG infrastructure and high-volume storage or data-transfer services.