Template for $30. "Saved" time. Lost 2 days fighting someone else's code.

The pattern repeats.

Examples

Ready-made library instead of your own Found an npm package. 1000 stars. Plugged it in. A week later - bug. Author doesn't respond. Forked it, figuring out someone else's code.

Writing my own would have taken 2 hours.

Quick hack instead of proper solution "I'll refactor later". Later - never. Hack grows crutches. 3 months later - rewriting from scratch.

Fewer containers? Later "If it works - don't touch it". 8 containers. Every deploy - a lottery. A month to simplify to 2.

When "cheap" is expensive

• When you save an hour now, lose a day later
• When you take someone else's code without understanding how it works
• When you postpone the proper solution
• When technical debt grows

When cheap is ok

• Throwaway prototype
• One-time script
• Experiment
• When you know for sure you'll throw it away

Rule

If it stays in production, do it right from the start. "Later" never comes.