# cost-gate-3357

Idea IB-0125. Status: DRAFT, nothing posted.

## Slides

**Cover.** My AI bill was 3,357 dollars. The spend cap read 200. It was 200,000. (May 2026, read 2026-10-11)

**Slide 2.** One month, one mistake, three causes: no cost check before the script ran, no caching, and a misread cap.

**Slide 3.** Data slide. Cap I read: 200. Real cap: 200,000. Bill in May 2026: 3,357 (read 2026-10-11).

**Slide 4.** Cause 1. The script called the API before anything estimated what the run would cost.

**Slide 5.** Cause 2. No caching, so nothing reused the repeated part of the prompt.

**Slide 6.** The guard: estimate before the first call, set a hard cap per run, cache the static prompt, block any call with no cost check using a hook, and read the spend cap twice.

**Slide 7.** Quote. The fix is not be careful. The fix is a hook. Memory failed. The hook does not forget.

**Slide 8.** Comment FLEET and I'll send the cost-gate rules plus the free Fleet Room invite.

## Claims and sources

| Claim | Source | Read-date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,357 dollar bill | Pack 01 hook and script, from the Rule 15 incident line | 2026-10-11 | May 2026 |
| Cap read as 200 | Pack 01 hook | 2026-10-11 | Misread by me |
| Real cap 200,000 | Pack 01 hook | 2026-10-11 |  |
| Three causes (no cost check, no caching, misread cap) | Pack 01 script | 2026-10-11 |  |
| Hook blocks any API call with no cost check first | Pack 01 script | 2026-10-11 | Described, not a metric |