Track & Optimize Cloud Costs | Budget Management Guide | Nife Docs

Monitor your infrastructure costs and optimize spending.

Understanding Costs#

The Monthly Cost metric on your dashboard shows your estimated monthly spending based on:

  • Compute - Application and VM resources
  • Storage - Database and file storage
  • Bandwidth - Data transfer
  • Other services - Monitoring, backups, etc.

Cost Breakdown#

By Resource Type#

Applications:

  • Cost depends on instance size
  • Higher specs = Higher cost
  • Multiple instances = More cost

Virtual Machines:

  • Hourly billing
  • Depends on specs (CPU, RAM)
  • Running costs apply

Databases:

  • Based on instance size
  • Storage capacity used
  • Backup storage

Storage:

  • Per GB per month
  • Includes databases and files
  • Archival storage cheaper

Bandwidth:

  • Outbound data transfer
  • Per GB charged
  • Inbound usually free

Reading Cost Metrics#

Total Monthly Cost#

Estimated spending for current month

  • Calculated from actual usage
  • Updated regularly
  • Useful for budgeting

Cost Trend#

Change compared to last month

  • +20% - 20% higher than last month
  • -10% - 10% lower than last month
  • 0% - Same as last month

What it means:

  • Increasing = Growing infrastructure or usage
  • Decreasing = Optimizing or scaling down
  • Spikes = New deployments or services

Cost Optimization Strategies#

1. Right-Size Resources#

Problem: Using larger instances than needed

Solution:

  1. Monitor actual usage (CPU, memory)
  2. Identify oversized instances
  3. Downsize to match needs
  4. Monitor impact
  5. Repeat quarterly

Savings: Up to 40% on compute

2. Remove Unused Resources#

Problem: Running resources you don't need

Solution:

  1. Audit all deployments
  2. Stop or remove unused apps
  3. Delete old databases
  4. Archive old data
  5. Remove test instances

Savings: 10-30% typically

3. Use Auto-Scaling#

Problem: Paying for peak capacity always

Solution:

  1. Set up auto-scaling rules
  2. Scale down during off-hours
  3. Scale up for peak times
  4. Automatic adjustment
  5. Pay for what you use

Savings: 20-50% for variable workloads

4. Optimize Database Usage#

Problem: Large databases consume resources

Solution:

  1. Clean up old data
  2. Archive historical data
  3. Optimize queries
  4. Use appropriate instance size
  5. Regular maintenance

Savings: 15-30% on database costs

5. Consolidate Services#

Problem: Multiple small instances = overhead

Solution:

  1. Combine related services
  2. Use shared resources
  3. Microservices → Monolith (if appropriate)
  4. Reduce instance count
  5. Maintain performance

Savings: 20-40% typically

6. Choose Right Regions#

Problem: Some regions cost more

Solution:

  1. Check region pricing
  2. Deploy to cheaper regions
  3. Use multi-region strategically
  4. Consider latency trade-off
  5. Balance cost vs performance

Savings: 10-20% based on region

Budget Management#

Set Budget Targets#

  1. Calculate acceptable monthly spend
  2. Add 20% buffer for growth
  3. Review quarterly
  4. Adjust as needed

Track Spending#

  1. Check cost metric weekly
  2. Note major changes
  3. Document deployments
  4. Correlate cost with activity

Alert on Overages#

  1. Set budget alerts
  2. Notify team on spike
  3. Investigate unexpected increases
  4. Take corrective action

Cost Reduction Checklist#

  • Review all running applications
  • Remove unused apps
  • Check for orphaned databases
  • Verify instance sizes are appropriate
  • Look for expensive regions
  • Enable auto-scaling where applicable
  • Clean up old data
  • Optimize database queries
  • Archive historical data
  • Consider reserved instances (if available)

Common Cost Scenarios#

Scenario: Cost Keeps Growing#

  1. Check what changed
  2. Review new deployments
  3. Monitor resource usage
  4. Identify expensive resources
  5. Optimize or remove

Questions to ask:

  • What's using the most resources?
  • Can we optimize that resource?
  • Is it necessary?
  • Can it run on smaller instance?

Scenario: Sudden Cost Spike#

  1. Check recent changes
  2. Look for new deployments
  3. Review alert logs
  4. Identify cause
  5. Take action

Common causes:

  • New large database
  • Runaway process
  • High traffic
  • Inefficient code
  • Misconfiguration

Scenario: Want to Reduce Costs#

  1. Audit all resources
  2. Identify optimization opportunities
  3. Prioritize by impact
  4. Implement changes
  5. Monitor results

Quick wins:

  • Remove unused resources (10-15%)
  • Right-size instances (10-20%)
  • Clean up storage (5-10%)
  • Stop overnight services (5-10%)

Billing Details#

Where to Find Details#

  1. Go to Billing or Payments section
  2. View detailed cost breakdown
  3. See charges by resource
  4. Download invoices
  5. Export for analysis

Understanding Invoices#

Invoice shows:

  • Charge date
  • Billing period
  • Usage details
  • Unit cost
  • Total charge

Review:

  • Accuracy of charges
  • Expected amounts
  • Unusual items
  • Compare with previous

Cost Forecasting#

Use historical data to predict:

  • Next month's spending
  • Quarterly costs
  • Annual costs
  • Growth trajectory

Plan for:

  • Budget allocation
  • Scaling costs
  • Seasonal variations
  • Business growth

Payment Methods#

Available options:

  • Credit card
  • Bank transfer
  • Monthly invoicing
  • Prepaid credits

Manage in:

  • Settings → Billing
  • Payment method section
  • Invoice preferences

Tips for Cost Efficiency#

✓ Monitor regularly - Weekly cost checks
✓ Set alerts - Know about spikes early
✓ Plan ahead - Budget for growth
✓ Right-size - Match resources to needs
✓ Clean up - Remove unused resources
✓ Automate - Use auto-scaling
✓ Archive - Move old data
✓ Consolidate - Combine services
✓ Optimize - Efficient code
✓ Question - Do you really need it?

Related Topics#

Getting Help#

For cost questions:

  1. Review billing section
  2. Check documentation
  3. Contact support with:
    • Screenshots of charges
    • Time period in question
    • Explanation of usage