Software: Save on Word, Excel, Microsoft Office

Cost Coach on Microsoft Office.

Because Microsoft Office is expensive, even two registered seats, let alone hundreds of licenses, the costs can add up quickly. I know what you are thinking -- that you just buy one version, and install it 452 times in your office. Umm, a couple of issues with that are updates and if you ever get caught, it will cost you more than the few dollars you saved in fines and humiliation.

To save money on Microsoft Office you can try several strategies, all of which will barely make a dent in the current valuation of the Microsoft stock, but can make a big impact in your own valuation:

* Determine which version: Do you really need the latest version of Office? You may be able to find a software outlet or discontinued software site that may have older versions of Microsoft Office. Read our article on how to easily find the best reviews on software.

* Compare: Use a price comparison site such as PriceGrabber.com, BizRate.com, Shopper.com, PriceSCAN.com, mySimon.com, Pricewatch.com or Dealtime.com. There are many more sites, but this will get you started.

* Eligible for a discount? Microsoft offers a "student version," typically called "academic software," of Office that can be purchased if you are in high school, college or affiliated in any way, such as a teacher. A recent online search for the academic version of Office 2007 found several web sites selling the software for just over $100.

* Affiliate: If you elect to become an affiliate of an online company, such as TigerDirect.com, you can earn a commission of the software and hardware that you buy. Technically, the affiliate companies frown on using your own affiliate ID to buy for yourself, but I suspect they are more interested in a sale then in enforcing the rule.

* Buy at eBay: I just completed an unrefined search for "Microsoft office" at eBay. I found 1,700 results. Surely there will be someone selling a version of Office to you at a low price. Be sure the version isn't illegal, bootleg or hasn't been registered. Read our information on how to shop eBay for the best prices.

* Buy at CraigsList.org: This takes a little more work, but sometimes you can find someone selling Office. Read our information on how to shop CraigsList for the best prices. Also read our article on how to search all of Craigslist at once, instead of just a single local search.

Wait there is more... and it is free, free, free.

You can also use Open Source or even free (yep, free) software.

You probably never heard this before (well, maybe one time), but remember that, "You get what you pay for." Having enlightened you on this age old adage, most of the open source and free software as an alternative to Microsoft Office is actually decent.

OpenOffice.org is a free, open-source (guess that is why they call it "Open Office") alternative with a Office-like applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and database management AND they are compatible with Microsoft Office. OpenOffice isn't perfect, it is cheap.

Microsoft's best friends at Google have created Google Docs as a free alternative to Microsoft Office. What makes this software is that you don't have to download or install Google Docs. It is web based. It isn't as full-featured as Office or OpenOffice, but for most people it does the trick. AND, as a bonus, it includes a couple of gigs of online document storage.