Well, you don't have to have money to smoke meat. I have seen one guy stack up some cement/cinder blocks, configure a grate in it, put a piece of metal on top for a lid and fire it up. Another, guy I know started out cooking chickens using an old welding table with cement blocks stacked up around it and a fire underneath.

I am sure there are lots of ways of smoking which do not require a high dollar investment. Some of the best BBQ I have ever ate, was cooked using the simpliest method.