You do not always need to pay a bundle for software. There are some GREAT packages out there that are free! Lets take a look at a few.
Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)
Open office is a free, open source software suite. It can handle word processing, speadsheets, databases and more. Works on various O/S’s and has many languages. It even offers support for other common software packages. It is easy to use and its free!
Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/)
A free image manipulation program. Great for photo retouching and image authoring. Uses all popular image formats.
Have other suggestions? Mail them to me!