# RateRight Cost Cutting Plan — February 2026

**Date:** 2026-02-07
**Status:** APPROVED by Michael (voice messages)

---

## Decisions Made

### Staff Changes
| Person | Jan Cost | Decision | Saving |
|--------|----------|----------|--------|
| Angelica Mae Belo | $2,180/mo | **GONE** — quit, not coming back | $2,180/mo |
| Markus Lindo | $2,140/mo | **Letting go this week** | $2,140/mo |
| OnlineJobsPH | $205/mo | **Cancel** — done hiring for now | $205/mo |

### SaaS Cuts (Business — Airwallex)
| Service | Jan Cost | Decision | Saving |
|---------|----------|----------|--------|
| ClickUp | $499/mo | **Cancel ASAP** — overkill for 1 person | $499/mo |
| Google Workspace | $163/mo | **Cancel** — move everything to Notion | $163/mo |
| Zapier | $48/mo | **Cancel** — not using it | $48/mo |
| GitHub | $155/mo | **Investigate** — why so expensive? Likely downgrade to Free | ~$150/mo |

### SaaS Cuts (Personal Account)
| Service | Jan Cost | Decision | Saving |
|---------|----------|----------|--------|
| Perplexity AI | $34/mo | **Cancel** — redundant with other AI tools | $34/mo |

### Keeping
| Service | Jan Cost | Notes |
|---------|----------|-------|
| Fly.io | $189/mo | Staging site + will host new website |
| Apollo.io | $85/mo | Still using for lead research/scraping |
| Claude AI (Max) | $340/mo | Core dev tool — non-negotiable |
| Twilio | $76/mo | Voice line + SMS |
| Slack | $43/mo | Team comms (review if Markus goes) |
| Xero | $10/mo | Accounting — cheap, needed |
| Coaster Advertising | $545 | One-off (beer mats). Confirm not recurring |

### To Investigate
| Item | Question |
|------|----------|
| GitHub $155/mo | What plan/how many seats? Downgrade to Free |
| Slack $43/mo | Still needed without Markus? |
| Vodafone x2 charges | Michael says 1 line — why 2 charges of $78.15? |
| Coaster Advertising | One-off or recurring? |
| Stripe $110 x2 on personal | Test charges — confirm refunded to business account |

---

## Revised Monthly Burn Rate

### Business Account

| Category | January | After Cuts |
|----------|---------|------------|
| Staff | $4,525 | $0 |
| ClickUp | $499 | $0 |
| Claude AI | $340 | $340 |
| Fly.io | $189 | $189 |
| Google Workspace | $163 | $0 |
| GitHub | $155 | ~$0 (Free tier) |
| Apollo.io | $85 | $85 |
| Twilio | $76 | $76 |
| Zapier | $48 | $0 |
| Slack | $43 | $0 (review) |
| Xero | $10 | $10 |
| **TOTAL** | **$6,133** | **~$700** |

*(Excluding Coaster Advertising as likely one-off)*

### Savings: ~$5,433/month

---

## New Runway Calculation

| Metric | Before | After |
|--------|--------|-------|
| Monthly burn | $6,461 | ~$700 |
| Cash in bank | $24,408 | $24,408 |
| **Months of runway** | **3.8 months** | **34+ months** |
| **Runs out** | **May 2026** | **Late 2028** |

---

## New Breakeven (at ~$700/mo burn)

| Hire Type | Hires Needed/Month |
|-----------|-------------------|
| Individual ($50) | **14** |
| Crew ($100) | **7** |
| Blended (70/30) | **11** |

That's roughly **3 hires per week** to cover all costs. Very achievable.

---

## Personal Account Notes

- Perplexity: Cancel ($34/mo saved)
- Vodafone: Investigate why 2 charges when 1 line ($78 potentially recoverable)
- Stripe test charges ($220): Confirm refunded to Airwallex
- DeepSeek ($79): Move to business card going forward

---

*Michael approved all cuts via voice message 2026-02-07.*
*Action items: Cancel ClickUp, Google Workspace, Zapier, OnlineJobsPH, Perplexity immediately.*
*Investigate: GitHub pricing, Vodafone double-charge, Slack necessity.*