I should clarify
I meant cheap as in type of lighting, media, hydration options etc...the actual putting together of these things wouldn't be poorly done. I'm a bit anal. My concern is more like...I don't want to be that asshole at the golf course with platinum clubs and a nifty swing gauge if grandpa's rusty clubs would do just fine. It's easy to get into over-spending on stuff you don't really need.
So, I'm trying to get an idea of a "normal" total investment and then plan from there
heres my 2¢
hit up amazon.com and pick up a coupple appolo grow light kits, one 1000w kit and a 600w kit...(the 600w kit is roughly the same price as the 400w kit so no sense in not getting the 600 since they are dimmable)
http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-1000Watt-Electronic-Reflector-Hydroponic/dp/B006K5AJOG/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1362838254&sr=8-13&keywords=apollo+600wthe 600's arent in stockso just grab 2 1k watters, you can dim them down and you have room for later expansion. also pick up a couple 600w MH bulbs so you can dim one of the 1000w lights down to 600 for the veg tent.
pick up some fans, panda film, temp humidity gague's, nutrients, soil, fabric pots (cheaper and better than plastic nursery pots).
hit up attitude and spend 140 bucks on some beans...do it during a promotion for extra beans.
home depot and 2x3's around a buck a piece, grab up 20 of them, staples and staple gun.
you said you already taking clones....so you already have that equipment im assuming.
now..get to building....build yourself a 6x4 room and wrap it in panda film, theres your flower room
build a 4x4 room and theres your veg room
your looking at around 1000 bucks on everything once its all said and done.....
with a 6x4 room you can fit around 10-12 plants in it (i have 13 in mine)
the apollo ballasts i mentioned are nice, they are cheap but offer a 3 year warranty.......cant beat it for the price. i am using 2 of them and they work great...
feel free to check out my grow in my sig, im pretty much outlining what im doing. you can dump another 5-600 bucks on adding CO2 but its not 100% necessary right this minute, is CO2 worthwhile? yes i think it is, if i had the funds i would buy a system in a heartbeat, for now i do a DIY yeast and sugar water and it seems to work fine.
most people start small and work thier way up.....not sure if this is something your interested in but for 300 bucks you can grab up a light and a 4x4 tent and start there. then as things progress upgrade to a self built room and use the tent to flower.
also as a note, if i could do one thing over i would either have bought 2x 1k watt lights and build a slightly larger room (10x5) would be a good room for 2x 1k watt thats a 5x5 sq ft area for each light, or you could go 4x8 and do 2x600w (4x4 area for each light)
anyways feel free to PM me if you want or have any specific questions, i am the same mentality as you...i dont want to spend 800 bucks per light....wasting money is not my style and alot of people on here think you need 3k min to start a decent sized grow and you do not, with a little know how and some DIY you can have a nice larger scale grow up and running for a grand easily.