A common fear among computer science students is spinning up cloud resources and getting hit with unexpected charges. Jonathan Vogel shares his own experience of deleting everything on AWS only to receive a surprise bill. The issue isn't hidden fees but rather resources that persist after deletion, like snapshots, unattached EBS volumes, and orphaned Elastic IPs.

These costs aren't secret - they're documented but rarely explained to beginners. When a database snapshot is created during RDS deletion or an EBS volume remains unattached after instance termination, billing continues silently. Elastic IPs that aren't associated with running instances cost a few dollars monthly. Students often conclude AWS charges mysteriously, spreading fear that deters learning cloud skills.

AWS now offers a free account plan with $100 in credits and up to $200 total that eliminates billing risk entirely - accounts close when credits expire rather than charging users. For those wanting more flexibility, the paid plan includes the same credits but requires setting up a billing alarm. Vogel provides a cleanup checklist starting with checking the billing dashboard, using Resource Explorer to find all resources across regions, and examining common culprits like snapshots, unattached volumes, and NAT gateways.