You could, maybe, get one person setup properly for $1,000. The problem is that you really NEED to have a completely separate monitor mix for each band member, which requires a separate monitor mixer and monitor engineer. It is also almost impossible to mix in-ear monitors without having a complete setup for the monitor engineer, and in-ears mixed by an engineer who does not work with the band all the time is a dicey proposition at best. While in-ear monitors are potentially a great thing to do for your ears, if the engineer doesn't know what they are doing, and what is going on with your band, it is possible to do much more serious damage, much faster, and just as permanently, with in-ear monitors.
Remember that you are dealing with a speaker all of about 1 inch from your ear drums. You absolutely MUST have a very strong brick wall limiter in-line just before your transmitters. Most units sold have just such a limiter, but I have never trusted them enough (remember, if anything goes wrong, you will never get your hearing back.)
I guess what I am saying is, if you are making a butt load of money playing out, go for it. If not, it probably is not worth it. And you never want to try using in-ears unless you have absolute confidence in your monitor engineer. (And your FOH engineer can not do it if there is more than one or two people in the band, and neither can you.) For a thousand dollars, I wouldn't do it if there are more than a two people in the band. Tuck and Patti use them, but it is just the two of them, and there stage volume would be low no matter what, so there in-ears never need to be very loud.
In-ear Pros
Superior sound quality for monitoring
More precise sound image
Lower on stage SPL
Better time image (easier to play together tightly)
Potentially better for your ears
MUCH better separation in microphones, which leads to a better sound for the audience
Much lower chance of feedback (though it can still happen if the mics or the in-ears are too hot.)
In-ear Cons
MUCH more expensive
Requires a regular monitor engineer (for practices, as well as shows, and you really need to practice with your in-ears as they take a great deal of getting used to.) And you don't want to chance an inexperienced engineer.
If something goes wrong (though it has to go seriously wrong) there is a much more serious chance for ear damage.
In order to do in-ears right, you need to use the same board (which probably means buying a board) every night. You don?t want to risk a board with a bad channel, or an intermittent fader. This doesn?t need to be much, but you do not want to be moving between boards.
Good in-ears block out most of the sound around you, so you will need to be fed more instruments, including drums. This means you will need a lot more channels for in-ears than you would for wedges, where you can likely hear most instruments without putting them through the monitors.
Many people feel disconnected from the audience when using in-ears, though you can compensate for this somewhat by mixing in a couple of audience mics.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Thanks.