I have four Azure VMs running during normal business hours.
All machines are Type A2 (2 CORES / 3.5 GB RAM) and cost $0.154/hr per VM.

I start them in the morning at 8PM and deallocate them at 5PM when I leave the office.
At least once a month I forget to deallocate. They then run unused until next morning (15 Hours).

Apparently, I love Microsoft so much that I enjoy giving them my money.
But mark my words. I will no longer pay for services that I don’t use…..

Calculation

Wasted hours Azure Price No. of VMs No. of times I forget in a Year
15 $0.154 4 12

Wasted yearly cost $110.88.

Same as the price for one Azure VM (A0) running nonstop for 8.5 months.

We see similar issues at customers Azure deployments, just in much larger scales.

Attached to this post is a step by step guide to bring some cost control on Azure subscriptions.

Guide is very simple and take about 15 minutes to implement.

Feel free to use and print.
Download Guide.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Next up, how to save money on your Gym Membership.