The question wasn't, "how can I afford this?" though, it was "but what if I forget to renew?" If you're already buying your own domain then this is a valid sol

The question wasn't, "how can I afford this?" though, it was "but what if I forget to renew?" If you're already buying your own domain then this is a valid solution, particularly if you can't or won't set up autorenewal. The affordability of paying for your own domain and also your email provider is a separate conversation entirely.