What setup?

Hey everyone, sorry if a similar thread has already been started but i didn't see one.

I'm relatively new to weed, only been smoking this year but i've quickly taken a keen liking to it and am now a comfortable smoker - not addicted, i don't want that, but i know my weed well now and i'm thinking of growing. I've been doing a lot of research online and i'm seeing various ways of growing, but all way too expensive.

I only want to grow a few plants, no more than 3 or 4, and i don't have a lot of money. I know that HID lamps are the way to go but they seem like a lot of money to purchase and set up the bulb, reflector and ballast. I've heard that you can do it just using fluorescents, and CFLs are a better choice? I'm thinking of doing it soil not hyrdoponics because that seems easier.
What is a good setup to use? Only want 3 or 4 plants max. maybe less, and they dont have to be anything amazing, and i only have a very small space available.
All help appreciated, and sorry about the long post
P.S i may be able to get a clone because a friend of mine is growing 10 seeds of cheese

all this + water pump less than $120 at Lowes






this is a 400 HPS with ballast from HTG Supply for $140 ish.

hey man wwelcome to RIU and ganja lol.
for your grow your gonna want cfls if you dont have alota money to work with. 6500k for vegging and 2700k for flowering. if you wanna do that, you usually will want double the lights(one for flower one for vegg). but if you mix it up with both colors for both stages of growth you will be fine. i would say 75-100watts per plant. your also gonna want to get some y-splitters for your lights. so you can have 2 lights for one lamp...etc, very convenient.
if you dont wanna get an HID you dont want to grow with hydro...setups are expensive as hell. im not sure what kind of soil to say to get...ill leave that to you. but just make sure it has perlite in it. ive done grows with "whitney farm's" soil and it was great. i think its organic maybe you can get some of that. i dont know.
any more questions just ask away.
ill check back with you bro
peace

Jesus of Cannabis, when i said i didn't have a lot of money, i meant i didn't have a lot of money but thanks for the advice, and thanks Tranquility i'll keep all that in mind. Most of that confirms what i thought, i'm not going for anything large scale so yeah hydro is too much.
So i'm thinking get some soil (i'll research which soil) and perlite (i've checked ebay and a small amount of perlite is cheap), how many lamps, one per plant? i'm getting into ebay so i'll just see if i can get some lights online, also i'm thinking of doing it in my attic as it is the best place not to get caught by other people in my house, however i live in the uk and the climate here is 'mild' as some put it basically its chilly and rains a lot, so how cold is too cold for weed and would the lights warm them up at all?

My mate just got back to me, he is going to give me 2 cuttings for £5 each which i think is very reasonable, what do you think?

My main problem now is, how am i going to transport the cuttings? the journey is about 45 mins away, i've seen various ideas like putting them in a tray full of water and ice so no air bubble is created in the stem, and someone said to put them in those long popsicle strips that you are meant to fill with water to freeze
Any ideas appreciated,
Thanks

i say about 4-5 lights per plant if they are 27watts or whatever. yes the light will heat up the plants but im not sure how much so i would say create a little box for them if its too cold so the heat from the lights will get trapped it there(of course you still want them to breathe) but the smaller the space the more heat you should have in there.

ur getting clone(s) right? i would advise not putting them in water if you want to put them in soil but thats just me and im not sure y. just get some rooting hormone and dip them in that and put them in soil and BAM. little baby clone. then you dont have to worry about air bubbles

ok thanks i'll get the lights and make some sort of box, what material would you suggest for the box? then i'll test the temperatures for both veg and flowering and see if i need a heater or not, i've ordered a temperature/humidity sensor so that should arrive within the next few days. hmm maybe i could put the two clones in some soil in cups or omething so they are easily transported in a rucksack? then i could just transport them into their pots when i get home btw there is a package entitled '2 Energy Saving 20w CFL Light Bulbs BC Emits 100w' does this look like a good buy? they're quite cheap doesn't say 2700k or 6500k or whatever :/ but they are dirt cheap