Chapter 1: Choose Your Plan and Model Without Wasting Money
Key concepts: Chapter 1: Choose Your Plan and Model Without Wasting Money
Chapter 1: Choose Your Plan and Model Without Wasting Money
Choosing Your Plan
- Free plan works for chapters 1-6
- Pro ($20/mo) needed for Claude Code
- Max ($100/mo) suits heavy users only
- Pay monthly first, yearly after 2 months
Picking the Right Model
- Haiku for tiny jobs, Sonnet for daily tasks
- Opus for complex thinking, Fable for client work
- Use strongest model for anything that matters
- Lighter models for throwaway tasks only
Claude's Three Limitations
- Can be confidently wrong with false facts
- Knowledge cutoff without web search
- Only knows what you tell it
- Verify numbers, prices, dates, and claims
Avoiding Common Mistakes
- Don't hoard the good model for everything
- Don't switch models mid-conversation
- Don't blame the tool for average results
- Check model name when output feels shallow
Practical Testing Tips
- Send a message to confirm model name appears
- Compare lightest and strongest models on same prompt
- Ask about today's date with web search off
- Keep receipt for tax deduction purposes
