Luke 14:25-30 (pg 797) 25 Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. 28 "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! 30 They would say, `There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!'

Proverbs 27:23-27 (pg 501) 23 Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, 24 for riches don't last forever, and the crown might not be secure for the next generation. 25 After the hay is harvested, the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in, 26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will be sold for the price of a field. 27 And you will have enough goats' milk for you, your family, and your servants.

1.Know how much you make 2.Write down the categories you spend from 3.Decide before the money comes where it will go (every dollar has a name) 4.Use a monitoring system (receipts or envelopes) 5.When the money runs out…you stop spending 6.Readjust every month 7.Know that it will take 3-6 months before your budget starts working 8.Be prepared for tension