Austin Tx. Homebrewer help to start kegging

It's been a few months since I've gotten to brew, but I've itching to make another batch or two. I've just started going back to school in the evenings combined with a full time job, a newborn, toddler, and all the other things I have to do, so funds and time are short these days.

I'm a very "do it yourself" person, never had a single person repair anything I own that I can do myself (probably why I got into homebrewing). Recently I went to the shed and took a look at my non working GE mini fridge I've had, and with a good ol boy hook up, I got the thermostat replaced and kegerator to be.

I've gotten a few parts from friends (lines, faucets, misc), but still missing the big three, kegs, tank, and regulator. With very limited funds I've called several scrap yards in the area with numerous b.s. excuses on kegs. I know of all the usual sites online, but money's tight these days.

If anyone in the central Texas area (or wherever) has any ideas, tips, or suggestions let me know. Always looking for trades and such (cash).

Hope I got this in the right spot. Thanks y'all.

Austin has a pretty good homebrew network. I would start with some of the local clubs. You never know who's getting rid of something. I've also seen some steals on Craigslist on different components and full systems around that area. I found a local homebrewer here in Houston that was getting rid of some CO2 bottles and I'll be picking up one on Monday. That beats buying a bottle online and having it arrive empty. Keg Connection out of Comanche has reconditioned pin locks for $35/ea and $8 flat shipping right now. That's pretty hard to beat unless you can find a source for kegs that need some work or a local homebrewer getting out of the hobby. I haven't really found anything here in Houston and deals that do come up are gone pretty quick. As far as regulators, I picked up Keg Connection's chudnows. I figure getting one from them fully assembled and done right was worth the additional cost of picking up one from a random CL ad. Considering $10 per fill up for a 5lb bottle, a leaky regulator can quickly cost more to fix than just getting a good one to begin with. Just my $.02. Good luck!