Go from $400 → $15 a week with these 15 Claude Code habits

Every time I talk about Claude Code I get the same question: “How do you use it without burning money?”

I burnt hundreds of dollars learning this the hard way.

But I’ve been using Claude Code to automate half my marketing stack.

I’m not a techie, but once I figured out how to use it right, it became my unfair advantage.

That’s when, I figured out 15 simple habits that changed everything.

They take 5 minutes to apply.

Now I spend less, move faster, and still get pro-level output.

PS: I built a setup script that cut my Claude Code cost by 5× and I’m dropping it inside The Vibe Marketers community. If you want to run leaner and faster, grab it there.

1. Use Haiku for 80% of your work: Set it as default. It’s 5x cheaper than Sonnet. Fixes bugs, edits files, reads logs just as fast.

2. Search first, read second: search for "x" in file costs $0.05 vs. $5 to read it all. That’s 100x cheaper.

3. Read files in chunks: Ask for lines 1–100, not the entire file. Small reads = small bills.

4. Run tasks in parallel: “Run these in parallel” → same cost, 3x faster.

5. Use the Explore Agent: Instead of random searches, let it map the codebase once. Costs $5 vs $30 of trial-and-error.

6. Plan before refactoring: Ask Claude to “create a plan for refactoring X.” $0.50 now saves $50 in rework.

7. Turn on budget alerts: Auto-warnings at 70% and 90% of your monthly budget. No more surprises.

8. Limit search results: “Find first 50 matches” instead of “find all.” 95% cheaper, same insight.

9. Be specific: “Fix login bug in auth.ts line 45” beats “help me fix this.”
Less guessing = fewer calls = less spend.

10. Use path shortcuts: One-line setup script creates aliases. Type utils instead of long paths.

11. Create task checklists early: “Create a todo list for this refactor.” Prevents missed steps + re-reads.

12. Read smart: “Read lines 100–200 from database.ts” saves dollars per file.

13. Don’t ask the same question twice: Use session memory. Re-running = re-paying.

14. Filter before fetching: “Show only rows with errors” instead of “show all.” 95% cheaper.

15. Automate your setup: Add these into a setup script once. Save forever.

Note: If you are using claude code with your pro/max subscription. You have to just do one thing. Manually force Haiku model (Pro = Sonnet, Max = 4.5).

Adam Sandler, one of our Claude Code pros inside the community, dropped his personal Claude workflow tips.

These are the ones he uses daily to move faster and spend less:

Workflow hacks:

Power user moves:

Marketing and tech used to be separate. Now they’re the same game.

You don’t need to code you just need to know how to build with AI.

Because the people who build systems, not just campaigns, will win.

If you’re a founder trying to catch up on AI, this is your shortcut.

We will match you with top 5% AI marketers who know how to scale content, automate growth and move faster than agencies ever could.

I have personally built my best team members from here. It’s how we went from ideas to impact fast.

Book your call. Hire smarter. Build faster.

—The Boring Marketer

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