I've done some reviving of cables, mostly its just been a quick-fix of putting some lube in the housings and moving the cables back and forth a bit to loosen something up. Sometimes, I swear the effects are only mental, but others it works like a charm. I just did this with a "new" used Schwinn World Sport and it made everything feel awesome. Eventually, however, I will get around to replacing the cables.
I understand the beer fund deal. Flip the couch over, scavenge some change from other places. It cost me about $5 or 6 for some generic cables and housings, and I was able to revive my dad's old 10-speed road bike to feeling like new (at least the cables moved like new, it still needed some more improvements).