Over the years, we here at JIGILS Enterprises has tried to raise awareness of the fine open source applications that exist.  We have found many open source/freeware applications that perform as well if not better than many of the expensive applications.  Here is a list of our favorites:

Instead of Outlook, try Mozilla Thunderbird.

Instead of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint try OpenOffice.

Instead of Publisher, try Scribus.

Instead of Visio, try dia.

Instead of FrontPage/Expression Web, try KompoZer.

Instead of Visual Studio, try SharpDevelop.

Instead of PhotoShop, try GIMP.

Instead of Symantec, McAfee or other paid anti-virus, try ClamWin.

And if you really want to go all out, try a version of Linux to replace your Windows operating system.  We recommend either Fedora or Ubuntu.  Most of the above applications have versions available for Linux as well.  Many are already included in the Linux operating system.

In these tough economic times, its worth looking into these options when it comes time to renew/upgrade.