First you need to ask yourself, do I feel lucky today? Let's see if I can make your day?

You should invest in a FireWire enabled mixer, if you believe you will need the mixer for live PA purposes along with your recordings, provided it has 4 or more microphone inputs.

If you are only interested in recordings, might I recommend a Presonus 8 microphone input Fire Pod?

You need to save those greenbacks
Ms. Remy Ann David

thank you very much. but it'll take me very very long time to have enough money to get one of those.

can anyone tell me anything about the alesis multimix 8usb?

I did a google search for the product name, and the first review on sweetwater's site had this to say;

Good product!
Best for semi-pro and basic pro work.
Sound leaks a little bit (between chanels).
I had to reinstall about 3-4 times drivers...
Solid construction in a compact box.
Perfect for using with a laptop."

Took 5 seconds, you may want to try searching the internet.

Something I'd recommend if your totally strapped for cash;

TASCAM 414mkII Portastudio Features:

* 4 full-function mic/line input channels
* 2 XLR inputs
* One dedicated guitar input
* 2-band channel EQs
* 2 stereo effects returns
* ±12% pitch control
* Discrete sync output
250.00 from Musicians Fiend, I mean, friend.
No laptop needed. You'd have to buy decent quality tapes to record on. You may have to buy some phantom power blocks and some xlr to 1/4" adaptors, for whatever condensor mic's, but carvin sells some 20 dollar units from what I remember. I think they will power two phantom power devices per, you have to check out http://www.carvin.com. They also have xlr to 1/4" plugs. On your type of budget, it's not going to get your far. One thing you could do, if you have most of the performance gear already, is just practice your but off and go whip out your set in a modest studio. You'd have to go in there 100 percent ready to rock to save your self money, but you could get the audio and mix yourself with some form of software on your laptop, or save up and pay a pro to do that as well. That way you'd be getting the best gear out of your skillset and equipment possible, not limited by your home recording budget. Good luck. I'm not sure what places charge where you live, but I've seen rates for 50.00 / hr and upward from there. It seems like you may get what you pay for all around, and I'm sure millions of people on this site know more than I about what should cost what.

Just my $0.02.

Do you already have mics, cables, mic stands, and DAW software?

i am current running on a Dell inspiron E1505 with dual core and 1 gig ram. i have 2 wireless mics that group together and come out as 1 stereo output and a Shure Beta 58A and i use a series of adapters and stereo to mono adapters to get a 1/8 plug that goes into the microphone jack on my laptop. and i am using audacity to record all this.

the set up works...im just looking for something a lil more efficant.

to hear samples of how my set up sounds:
http://www.myspace.com/1roundko
the song "Time To Stand" is proubally my best recording.

It's not even worth me commenting on.

now dont be rude, i am asking for help and constructive criticism. Just because you are an professional engineer doesnt mean you have to put the rest of use down who are just starting out in recording.

Depending on how much money you have, maybe you could use something like a Behringer Mixer with RCA out. At least you'll be using some 'OK' mic pre's. After you get this you can buy an RCA to 1/8" or 3.55 mm cable to run from the board to your line in on the laptop. You might also want to invest in some CAD Drum Mic packs. You can't honestly think that you can record the drums well with only 1 mic.

Also maybe practice with a metronome.