Most players burn currency on amulets because they start with the dream instead of the goal. That's the mistake. In PoE 2, a usable amulet doesn't need to look like a trophy item or some poe 2 Mirror of Kalandra fantasy piece to carry your build through maps. You need to decide what counts as enough before you spend anything. Maybe it's +skills, a solid resistance roll, and some life. Maybe it's spirit and cast speed with a crafted filler stat. That line matters more than people think. Once you've got a clear target, it's way easier to stop at the right time instead of clicking yourself into a hole you can't climb out of.
Start with a base that already does some work
If you can get a fractured mod, do it. Seriously, it changes the whole feel of the craft. One fixed stat cuts out a lot of the nonsense and gives the item some built-in value from the start. The best fractures are usually the ones that are a pain to hit naturally or the ones almost any version of your build would be happy to wear. That way, even if the next few steps aren't amazing, the amulet still has a reason to exist. A lot of players skip this part because they want a cheaper base, then end up paying for that decision ten times over in extra rerolls.
Chaos spam needs a stopping point
This is where people lose discipline. They throw Chaos Orbs at the item and only look for one perfect line at a time. That's not how good crafts happen. You've got to judge the whole amulet. Do the mods actually fit together, or are you staring at three individually decent rolls that don't help the same build? If the item lands in that eighty percent range, just stop and think. In real play, that “almost there” amulet often feels completely fine. The extra push for perfection usually costs far more than the upgrade is worth. You'll notice pretty fast that staying solvent in PoE 2 is less about hitting miracles and more about knowing when a craft has already done its job.
Know when risk stops making sense
Exalted Orbs and Annulment Orbs are where the mood changes. Up to that point, maybe you're still experimenting. After that, you're gambling on an item that might already be valuable. An Annul can clean up a bad affix, sure, but it can also delete the exact mod that made the amulet worth keeping. That's the kind of moment that wipes out a session. A smarter approach is to build in smaller wins. Lock in the good base. Hit a useful roll. Add a bench craft if it helps. Then leave it alone. Once the item is stable, finish it with catalysts and move on. Plenty of strong characters are running gear that's merely efficient, not mythical, and if you ever need upgrades later, it's often easier to trade around the market for PoE 2 Currency for sale than to keep forcing a craft that already told you to stop.