Brewing beer is like raising a child. It's going to be small, cute, and cuddly, and then WHAMO!!! It grows out of control if you don't show some self-restraint. Take it slow when starting out. Before your brew day sit down and write down a plan, a script, a five paragraph order for you military types, business plans etc. etc, of what your going to do on brew day. Follow your script on brew day and take notes while brewing, from buying your supplies to cleaning your gear. This will keep you on track, and give you a great record to review for mistakes and brilliant moves you made. Also, get a friend, family member, neighbor, who wants to brew beer. This will cut down on cost, since you will be spitting the cost, cuts down on time cleaning, and they come in handy when lifting carboys with 5+ gals. of liquid in them. Make sure you and this person get along, brew days can be stressful and boring all at the same time. If doing extract, which is a good way to start, it won't taste like the beer you buy in the store. Extract has a funny sugary taste. I kept thinking I was screwing up my extract beer until I tried one a brewer made and it tasted the same as mine. He took offense when I gleefully proclaimed it tasted just like mine, of course this was right after I had already complained about how bad mine tasted. But this was the info I needed to know that I was doing it right. So get to BIAB after you try a few test batches of extract to work out the kinks. And lastly..if your not a clean freak, get ready to become one. These 2 words mean everything...Clean and Sanitize!!