diff --git a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/ecs.tf b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/ecs.tf
index 04009fd..5aeff71 100644
--- a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/ecs.tf
+++ b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/ecs.tf
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ resource "aws_iam_role" "ecs_task_role" {
 resource "aws_cloudwatch_log_group" "app" {
   count             = var.enabled ? 1 : 0
   name              = "/ecs/${local.name_prefix}"
-  retention_in_days = 7
+  retention_in_days = 1  # Reduced from 7 days for cost optimization
 
   tags = merge(local.common_tags, {
     Name        = "${local.name_prefix}-logs"
diff --git a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/monitoring.tf b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/monitoring.tf
index 386f270..9d9ab0a 100644
--- a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/monitoring.tf
+++ b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/monitoring.tf
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ resource "aws_cloudwatch_metric_alarm" "high_memory_utilization" {
   evaluation_periods  = "2"
   metric_name         = "MemoryUtilization"
   namespace           = "AWS/ECS"
-  period              = "300"
+  period              = "300"  # 5 minutes for cost optimization
   statistic           = "Average"
   threshold           = "80"
   alarm_description   = "This metric monitors ECS memory utilization - WILL FIRE when containers run out of memory"
diff --git a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/variables.tf b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/variables.tf
index 5d18376..0e4e5d9 100644
--- a/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/scenarios/memory-optimization/variables.tf
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ variable "java_heap_size_mb" {
 variable "enable_container_insights" {
   description = "Enable CloudWatch Container Insights for the ECS cluster"
   type        = bool
-  default     = true
+  default     = false  # Disabled for cost optimization
 }
 
 variable "health_check_grace_period" {
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ variable "application_port" {
 variable "cpu_units" {
   description = "CPU units for ECS task (1024 = 1 vCPU)"
   type        = number
-  default     = 1024
+  default     = 512  # Reduced from 1024 for cost savings
 }
 
 # Tags
diff --git a/modules/scenarios/variables.tf b/modules/scenarios/variables.tf
index 4f6befc..5c5e533 100644
--- a/modules/scenarios/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/scenarios/variables.tf
@@ -9,19 +9,19 @@ variable "example_env" {
 variable "enable_memory_optimization_demo" {
   description = "Enable the memory optimization demo scenario"
   type        = bool
-  default     = false
+  default     = true  # Enable demo infrastructure
 }
 
 variable "memory_optimization_container_memory" {
   description = "Memory allocation for containers in the demo (2048 = safe, 1024 = breaks)"
   type        = number
-  default     = 2048
+  default     = 1024  # Reduced from 2048MB to save costs
 }
 
 variable "memory_optimization_container_count" {
   description = "Number of containers to run in the memory optimization demo"
   type        = number
-  default     = 15
+  default     = 3  # Reduced from 15 to 3 for cost optimization
 }
 
 variable "days_until_black_friday" {