Did you ever purchase software off the shelf or on the Internet, only to receive an email from the company every year to buy the upgraded version, which often includes a patch to their own mistakes? If your answer is "yes", then I guarantee that the time you spend reading this article will save you money... perhaps enough for a vacation!

Like most people, I've been using Microsoft Office to create my documents. To be honest, I never looked around for a similar product; I just followed what the evangelist from Microsoft told everyone... that their merchandise is the best solution for us. But recently, I opened my eyes and closed my wallet when I found out that other products can do most of what I need from them, with the added bonus of saving me a bundle!

Ask yourself... do you really need to pay hundreds of dollars for 10% of the functionality that you actually use on your software? Just think about it. What functionality do you use from a word processor? You most likely make use of the page layout, spelling and text formatting options.

So before I tell you about this product and help you save money, let me first stress that I am in no way affiliated with this company... I am just a firm believer in making money by saving money.

You probably know about those geniuses from the web... they are the second most visited site in the world. Yes you got it! It's Google. And they are not just a search engine anymore. They have expanded their business line to web applications. It is nothing like the kind of software you are used to. No need to download anything. Just do your work online anywhere you can find an Internet connection, and just run it in a browser.

It is called Google Docs, an application that lets you create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online from scratch or from a template. You can even upload your existing Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents and convert them into Google Docs. If you are working with other team members, you will love the fact that Google Docs allows you to share your files with others. You can allow your team members to edit the current version if you choose to, and don't be afraid to lose your changes because you can always revert to a previous automatically saved version. We all know that Google is a master at indexing content and getting the results you want from a search. Well, this same quality is found in Google Docs, which lets you search for any documents you created and organize them into folders.

Google Docs is just an example of how free online applications can provide you with everything you need from software, if not more. It may be harder to find other applications, since the smaller companies who offer them don't have the same means as the big guys. But once you discover them, believe me when I say that you will never again pay for software.

If you are a disciple of Microsoft Office, then I suggest you visit a similar product called Office Live Workspace. However, it does not allow you to create and edit documents within a web page. If you own Microsoft Office software, then you will be able to open and save documents to and from the workspace via the software's File menu.

So go get yourself online software that meets your needs without paying a penny. Not only will you save money, but you will also encourage the free software community to continue building excellent products at no cost.

Now take the money you saved and go on that well-deserved vacation!!!