This is just annoying. I maintain an XYZ domain because it cost me pennies to buy. But geez, the renewal fees. That is how they get you. Now, I will go back to using github.io, netlify.app, or whatever Cloudflare Pages have. It just isn't worth it to maintain a domain for a personal page.
Most things in life have a reasonable cost set by market forces. My expectations for a domain is in the $10-20 price range. Anything lower than that means I have to pay attention to marketing gimmicks.
There are also plenty of “free forever” subdomains if you are looking for, i.e.: afraid.org
