There's a slightly more expensive, yet slightly more legal, way to get an inexpensive copy of the Microsoft Office products. Go to an office supply store or CompUSA and buy the "Teachers and Students" edition of Microsoft Office. You can get it for about $120, which ain't cheap, but it's cheaper than paying full freight. I think it has Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and one more application (Outlook?).
Not the bargain basement method, but it works. I've had trouble activating "borrowed" copies of Microsoft products in the past.