Monitoring and observability are not interchangeable terms; monitoring is a key component of observability, but true observability goes beyond mere monitoring to provide data-driven decision-making. Implementing proper observability can help reduce costs in Kubernetes environments by providing visibility into resource usage, right-sizing resources, implementing autoscaling mechanisms, optimizing clusters and workloads, and utilizing AI for automation and forecasting. Understanding the technology being observed alongside following best practices is crucial for achieving true success with observability.