Office 2007 - how much?

[Phoenix]

Just got a new laptop so have been swapping everything over and getting used to Vista. I am currently using the trial version of Office 2007. This will expire soon so I followed a link to pay for the full version on the Microsoft site. I nearly feel off my chair, 282 euros for the basic edition, 369 for the business edition, 492 euros for Pro Don't know why the prices are in Euros when I selected UK.
A quick look around good old Google shows I can get it for considerably less 'for home use' can anyone suggest a good supplier. Ideally looking at Office Pro

I guess Microsoft rely on people just following thier link and not shopping around.

[Phoenix]

Was looking at software for students as this may be applicable if they allow part time college courses to qualify.

I would be happy to use an alternative to MS word and xl as I probably use a tiny fraction of its features but I am unsure about an alternative for Outlook. I use this for multiple email accounts and would need to able to import all old emails, info etc.

Would Outlook Express, think it's now called Windows Mail and seems to be separate from the MS Office package, be able to cope with multiple email accounts etc?

[Phoenix]

groomi said:

A lot of these cheap places on t'internet are really selling a version which is only for installation on a new PC. (ie. meant for sale to these independent guys who build PCs and sell them ready made).

Tread carefully.

Which is why I posted on here before I part with any money. My computer/software knowledge is very, very limited and I would rather pay the full amount for a proper version than run into trouble with something dodgy that may cause problems.

Having said that, I will have a look at the Office alternatives first.