First, given the relatively high percentage of people in this forum who work on their own computers, (and correct me if I'm wrong) but I thought that in addition to providing additional safety from electrocution, the ground ALSO acts to safely dissipate static electricity to minimize the risk of damage to sensitive electronic components.
Like a couple have suggested, spend some time to learn to do it yourself. For rewiring a house, probably 95% of the work is in running the wires; 5% doing the actual connections.
If you have a fusebox, unless you're very handy, I'd suggest having an electrician put in a new breaker box - but you jump the circuits to the new box. Personally, I'd put in the breaker box myself. But, since one of my demonstrations on types of circuits (parallel vs. series) in my physics class is the electrocution/cooking of hotdogs with bare live wires, I'm probably a little more comfortable (but cautious) around electricity than most people.
Things to know:
*ALL electrical connections occur in a box; never 2 wires taped together somewhere in the wall like they sometimes did in the old days.
*Know how many outlets are allowed on a circuit; and it differs (I believe) depending on the type of wire, whether it be 12/2 or 14/2 (with ground). Given the minimal difference in price between the two, I see know reason to even touch the 14/2. Be aware of what code says as to the minimum number of circuits per type of room (kitchen is 3 IIRC)
Summary of what you need to learn:
black connects to black (usually, except in some specific circumstances such as when running a wire to a switch, in which case the white wire is supposed to be marked black by wrapping it with electrical tape; you'll see this in any how-to)
white connects to white
bare copper connects to bare copper and metal boxes
2 types of circuits for switches
how to connect an outlet (correct polarity)
possibly a 3-way switch circuit (there are a couple of ways; this also involves a different type of wire: 14/3 with ground or 12/3 with ground. Since this is generally for lighting, this is usually the only place I skimp and purchase a small roll of 14/3.
how to connect the wires in the breaker box - this is extremely easy, but it's especially important, as it is with all screwed down connections, to be sure you're tightening the screw down enough. Keep it neat and organized in the breaker box and throw the main breaker before working in there. Also, wrap your wire round the screw clockwise so that tightening the screw draws the wire in rather than pushes it out to the sides. Learn to bend the wire into a question mark with needle nosed pliers, and learn the proper length to strip off.
A 220V circuit. (piece of cake, but you'll need heavier wiring; either 10/3 or 8/3 depending on the Amps and length.)
Total cost for do it yourself - replacing all wiring, switches and outlets - anywhere from $100 to $400, depending on the amount of wires and the "quality" of the switches and wallplates; i.e. do you want basic switches (<50 cents each) or quiet switches, slider switches, dimmer switches, etc., which can run anywhere from a couple bucks on up. Plain old wallplates (25 cents or so) or solid brass or oak wall plates?
For a 200Amp breaker box with breakers, I saw on the billboard of an electrical supply place near me the other day: $139.
A 250 foot roll of 12/2 with ground seems to fluctuate in price a bit, but is generally under $40, sometimes as cheap is $30. You'll need anywhere from 2 rolls to 5 rolls, depending on the layout of your home, total number of circuits, etc. If your kitchen and laundry room are right above the breaker box, then you save; the separate circuit you run for each larger appliance such as the dishwasher will use less wire. But, if the kitchen is 40 feet away, then that's going to run an extra box of wire by itself.
Cost for an electrician will vary widely, depending on where you live; but I'd bet at a minimum it would still be well over $1000 dollars. So, save yourself hundreds of dollars and learn to do it yourself. At the very worst, you could leave all of your outlets uncovered after doing a room or two and have an electrician or electrical inspector come in to check them.
Don't forget the $2 electrical tester that you touch to the wires and the little bulb lights up. Even when you know the circuit you're working on is dead, check those wires anyway! You'd be amazed at some of the things that can be done, such as 2 separate circuits being run to one outlet. You plug something into the outlet, trip the breaker causing it to go off, pull out the outlet and zappppp! The second wire isn't running out of the outlet to another outlet somewhere else; it could actually be a second circuit coming in, that is, the top plug and the bottom plug don't *have* to be on the same circuit; there's a little metal piece that can sometimes be snapped off to put them on separate circuits. (often was done in bedrooms so the top plug is controlled by a switch and the bottom plug is always live.) Of course, that's kinda assinine and I doubt up to today's code; but after 50 years of previous owners and who knows what rewiring, you never know.
There are all sorts of codes you should probably know if you have anal retentive inspectors in your area who could hassle you when you attempt to resell the home years from now. Things like how far apart the staples are supposed to be when holding down your romex cable. God forbid you just staple wherever the wire seems it needs one, end up with 2 that are 25 inches apart and wind up with an inspector saying "This is baaaaddddd. These staples are 25 inches apart. They're not allowed to be more than 24 inches apart."
Above all else, tight connections. Loose connections lead to resistance leads to heat.
Oh, and rip out the old wiring as you go. There's nothing more frustrating (or scary) than to be staring at bare wires in walls (during remodeling) or dangling from a basement ceiling and have to wonder, "are those live??"
