When you know you can build something or pay for it, it's tempting to build the thing and save the money.
But trying to save money by building it yourself is a mistake.⛔️
There's always a cost. Instead of paying money, you'll pay with time and complexity. This is normally much more expensive.
Here's a short video featuring me talking about this point:
The Scenario
- I suggested using Render to a friend for web hosting
- Render costs $7 a month
- Friend could easily afford this, but didn't like the thought of spending this, and was considering using deploying his app manually to his own server to save money
Why That's Wrong
-
Value your time
- How much is your hour worth? More than $7?
- Complexity adds ongoing maintenance costs. This means more time costs.
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Focus on building, not setup
- Your time is limited, especially if you're not a full-time developer
- Users don't care about your hosting platform
The Real Cost
- Cheap options often become expensive in the long run
- $50 a month for a service? Worth it if you can afford it
Takeaway
Don't be cheap. If you can afford to spend money to speed things up, do it. Remember: cheap is expensive.
