[masraum]

Originally Posted by Head416

Get an academic license. I bought Office 2007 Pro for $100. Sign up for one unit at a JC if you have to in order for the school bookstore to sell it to you.

Originally Posted by sprio

If your employer uses it, you might be able to take advantage of Microsoft's home use program. Mine recently switched over from XP to Win7, and employees were able to purchase Office for $15.

Yes, the two best legal options. If you have an employer that has the "HUP" available, then that's a great deal. I bought Office 2010 Professional Plus for $9.95 and paid an extra $12 for a DVD.

Also, if you or anyone that you know has a school ID or are currently taking courses, you should be able to get an academic license. Just do a Google search for it. It's the real deal and much, much cheaper than the retail version.

One more option is the Action Pack subscription. If you can say that you are a business that installs or sells MS products, you can get the action pack subscription. I had it once. I said I was a business that helped another business with their IT stuff. The "other business" was my wife's Internet business. Basically, I kept her PC going. Anyway, at the time, the APS got you a 1 server license for every server that MS made, and a 10 PC license for just about every piece of client side software they made. Back when I did it, it was $300 a year, and they sent you the CDs 4 times a year. I think it's a little more now, and then even more if you want the CDs, but if you can pull it off, it's a hell of a deal.

https://partner.microsoft.com/40016455