Let's think about this for a second
Creating an AWS account requires an email and a credit card — the moment you create the account, an identity called the 'Root User', with full control over everything, is created automatically. You shouldn't use the Root User for everyday tasks — since it has every permission, if its credentials leak you could lose the whole account (create a separate IAM user (Basic lesson 4) for everyday work instead). AWS Free Tier lets you use certain services for free for 12 months (or forever-free) — go over the limit and costs kick in.
Let's connect this to a real scenario
The first thing to do after creating an account is to turn on MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for the Root User — a password alone isn't enough to secure your account. After that, set up a Billing Alert (Advanced chapter), create an IAM user (Basic lesson 4), and continue your everyday work from there.
Let's look at it together
AWS account setup checklist:
1. Sign up with email + credit card
2. Immediately enable MFA on the root user
3. Note the Free Tier limits for services you plan to use
4. Set up a billing alert (see Advanced chapter)
5. Create an IAM user for daily work — stop using root$ (AWS Console) Root user MFA status: Enabled ✓5-minute try-it
Create a free AWS account and turn on MFA for the Root User — then read the Free Tier page and note down the free limits for EC2/S3.
A quick word of caution
Once your credit card is linked, leaving resources running and forgetting to delete them (for example, not destroying a server after you're done practicing) can cause your monthly bill to spike suddenly — make cleaning up resources a habit after every practice session.