How much of this stuff do you have made that needs to be carbonated??
Search the ads in your area for people selling used, but still working, chest freezers. Many people use those to hold kegs while serving/carbonating them. You can also use
this chart to figure out CO2 pressure needed to carbonate at a temperature. Many of us that keg use this chart. Makes things really easy when you can just set the keg to pressure level, at temperature, and come back ~2 weeks later to find it fully carbonated. :rockin:
You could also try to justify the bigger costs to SWMBO by saying it's really for the kids. Then get kegs to put your beer in slowly until you're only kegging new batches.
You don't need to get everything all at once you know. I would just advise not going cheap where it counts. Things like the regulator are worth spending a bit more on to get a quality item. IMO/IME, Taprite rules there. Cheaper to get that from the start, then need to replace it later.
I'm using a dual body Taprite regulator, feeding two manifolds in my 10 cubic foot Whirlpool fridge/freezer (top freezer) that holds four 2.5 or 3 gallon corny kegs. I have three Perlick faucets through the door, so I have one spot in the fridge for carbonating a keg, while three are on tap.
I have the CO2 tank sitting outside the fridge, so that I have more room for kegs. Plus, the 20# [aluminum] tank I use won't fit inside. :rockin: I scored that for cheap money from another HBT member over a year ago. I also have 10' beer lines (3/16" ID Bevlex hose) from each keg to faucet. I also have 5/16" ID double wall hose for the CO2 side. All fittings are MFL, so I have swivel nuts on the hoses. Makes changing them much easier. I'd also seriously advise using Oetiker clamps for all the hoses, over worm clamps. Significantly better seal that way, AND you won't get sliced by them (unlike worm clamps on both points).
There are plenty of threads about kegging and setups on the boards. Look them over to see what others are doing.