Get a lifetime subscription to WPS Office Business Edition for $33.99
Normally $79.99, the Business Edition has all the features and none of the ads.
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In the battle between lifetime license and subscription license, lifetime wins every time.
If there's one thing you learn in Cheapskate 101, it's that paying for Microsoft Office is pretty ridiculous. I like the suite, and will note that Outlook remains probably the single best desktop mail client you can get. But $70 or $100 per year for Office 365 Personal or Home? Um...no. Not when there are so many other solid alternatives for free or cheap.
For example, I've long been a fan of WPS Office Free, which offers the Big Three apps -- word processing, spreadsheets and presentations -- in exchange for looking at the occasional ad. I think the suite's polished, modern interface (stolen straight from Microsoft though it may have been) gives it a leg up over some other suites.
Many folks can get by just fine on WPS Free, but if you want an ad-free experience and more advanced features (like the option of splitting and merging PDFs), here's a pretty nice upgrade option: WPS Office 2016 Business Edition lifetime license for $33.99. That's after applying promo code CNET6 at checkout.
That license is good for one PC and an unlimited number of mobile devices. Normally it runs $79.99, and civilians (i.e. non-Cheapskate readers) have to pay the $39.99 price. What has two thumbs and saved you an extra $6? This guy.
If you haven't already, by all means try out the free version before hopping on this deal. (The promo code is valid through next week.)
Despite looking an awful lot like Microsoft Office, WPS has a much smaller footprint; nice if you're using it on an older system and/or one that's strapped for storage.
Business Edition users can get support via email and numerous online options (forums, tutorials, etc.), though not by phone.
So, yeah, given the option of paying $70-100 forever for Microsoft Office and paying $34 once for WPS Office, it's kind of no contest (though of course the former does offer more stuff). That said, if you're happy with Google Docs or LibreOffice or whatever, well, what are you still doing here? On to the bonus deal with you!
Bonus deal: Speaking of desktop mail clients, I'm the kind of person who still needs one. Or at least prefers one. If you feel the same, and are thinking to yourself, "Dang, if only WPS Office had a mail client," here's your best option by far: Em Client, a really good tool that's free for up to two email accounts. If you need more, the Pro version is a little steep at $49.95 -- but stick around these parts. You never know when you might find a deal. wink-wink.