Serverless promises "pay for what you use" — but what if you're using it wrong?

In this case study, I'll share how one client accidentally racked up massive costs running a simple newsletter registration system. They picked serverless for its low upfront cost, but poor architectural decisions turned it into a monthly money pit: slow cold starts, bloated packages, and 23 separate function apps running in parallel.

Together, we'll explore common serverless pitfalls that silently drain your budget, why "just scaling up" (or going premium) isn't always the answer and the importance of lightweight functions and package hygiene.

While this story unfolded on Azure Functions, these lessons apply whether you're on AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, or any serverless platform. By the end, you'll walk away with practical strategies to design leaner, faster, and dramatically cheaper cloud apps — and maybe save your team from that awkward budget meeting.