A brand new sous-vide hack

I've fantasized of buying an immersion circulator, which is low temperature water oven in which you submerge food in a vacuum sealed bag, and cook it for prolonged periods of time. The point of this is precision and consistency when cooking food. There are tremendous benefits to cooking meats this way: they will practically never overcook, it yields incredibly moist, succulent meat, it cuts service time (because you put it in, cook it through, cool it down, and forget about it until its time to serve, then you sear it to order). The problem is, this equipment can cost more than $1G.
I've thought of a few hacks that I've never tried, such as buying a fryolater and putting water in it since the temperature can be regulated precisely. I read an awesome article this morning by and MIT grad/private chef in Massachussettes who happened to have discovered his own money saving hack. Want a hint? It involves a cooler.