Pros and Cons of updating Microsoft Office

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce Apparently Apple’s free Numbers spreadsheet now has pivot tables. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/...uctivity-apps/

That’s enough to get me to drop my Microsoft 365 subscription! Unfortunately that’s a hard no from DW even though she doesn’t even use pivot tables. I guess I’ll continue to spend $100/year to keep peace in our house…

[Romer]

you can get the stand alone non subscription MS office on ebay as well

[bobandsherry]

Here's a great deal for Office 365 Family (up to 6 users) 15 Month Subscription. Plus you also get 2021 H&R Block Deluxe + State Windows. $69.98

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...=Combo.4407349

I've now extended my Office 365 subscription and set for next years taxes.

[USGrant1962]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry Here's a great deal for Office 365 Family (up to 6 users) 15 Month Subscription. Plus you also get 2021 H&R Block Deluxe + State Windows. $69.98 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...=Combo.4407349 I've now extended my Office 365 subscription and set for next years taxes.

That's a really good deal. To confirm, you got a code for O365 that you entered into your Microsoft account and it extended you by 15 months from your prior expiration date?

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USGrant1962 That's a really good deal. To confirm, you got a code for O365 that you entered into your Microsoft account and it extended you by 15 months from your prior expiration date?

Exactly. I already applied the activation code, I was set to expire in September 2024 (I already had a couple of other discounted offers applied), now set to expire December 2025.

As FYI - My original product/subscription was also purchased from NewEgg, so if you have purchased product/subscription from another vendor/source I can't say what will or won't happen.

[bobandsherry]

AsFYI - per Microsoft, if you have a "Personal" account, you can upgrade to "Family" and the remaining days on your existing subscription for Personal are automatically added to your new Family subscription.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...a-db94b9b0a36b

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry AsFYI - per Microsoft, if you have a "Personal" account, you can upgrade to "Family" and the remaining days on your existing subscription for Personal are automatically added to your new Family subscription. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...a-db94b9b0a36b

I'm about to find out. Thank you, this is a great pointer.

Let's hope my luck is better than trying to steal get the Hulu $0.99 deal.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I no longer have any need for anything but Excel, but have found that OpenOffice Calc does everything that I need to do with spreadsheets. So, that's all that I use now.

+1000

When I retired, I immediately transitioned from MS Office (which was paid for by my agency) to Open Office (which is free). Open Office has been terrific and I haven't missed MS Office at all.

Like NW-Bound, all I need these days is Open Office's Excel equivalent. I use it every day for keeping track of my spending, investments, doing projections, and much more. Also the word processor and other functions are there if I should ever need them (but I don't, so far).

[Golden sunsets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R +1000 When I retired, I immediately transitioned from MS Office (which was paid for by my agency) to Open Office (which is free). Open Office has been terrific and I haven't missed MS Office at all. Like NW-Bound, all I need these days is Open Office's Excel equivalent. I use it every day for keeping track of my spending, investments, doing projections, and much more. Also the word processor and other functions are there if I should ever need them (but I don't, so far).

W2R; Do you know how this works if one gives up their current Office product( in my case Office 365) and you want to open an old word or excel sheet? Does Open Office convert the doc automatically?

Sent from my SM-T510 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I have MS Office Pro 2003, and Office Ultimate 2007, but have not used them for a while. I no longer have any need for anything but Excel, but have found that OpenOffice Calc does everything that I need to do with spreadsheets. So, that's all that I use now.

For me, the value of Office 365 is the cloud storage. With the Family plan and a TB of storage for each of the 6 users, that's worth the price of admission. I know, cloud storage freaks some people our or isn't necessary, but it's a great convenience to me.

Retired myself, I do some volunteer work and then having access to the Office Products is just a plus for the accounting and budgeting I do. However, I find myself using Google Sheets often even with Excel. But for really large sheets, I still go to Excel.

[finnski1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R +1000 When I retired, I immediately transitioned from MS Office (which was paid for by my agency) to Open Office (which is free). Open Office has been terrific and I haven't missed MS Office at all. Like NW-Bound, all I need these days is Open Office's Excel equivalent. I use it every day for keeping track of my spending, investments, doing projections, and much more. Also the word processor and other functions are there if I should ever need them (but I don't, so far).

I have been using OpenOffice Calc for several years and am very happy with it. Mostly just do a lot of spreadsheet stuff.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras I'm about to find out. Thank you, this is a great pointer.

The deal through NewEgg worked great. I had no problem activating it with MSoft, and it automatically converted my "Personal" to "Family" and extended the subscription 15 months. No pain.

[jollystomper]

As a 25+ year Microsoft shareholder, I implore everyone to update to the latest versions of Office, (or any other Microsoft software). The biggest pro is that you will be helping my assets grow .

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollystomper As a 25+ year Microsoft shareholder, I implore everyone to update to the latest versions of Office, (or any other Microsoft software). The biggest pro is that you will be helping my assets grow .

I'm an index guy and both Apple and MSoft are my largest holdings, surprisingly large.

So yeah, I agree. Update your Office and upgrade your iPhone. Go for it.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden sunsets W2R; Do you know how this works if one gives up their current Office product( in my case Office 365) and you want to open an old word or excel sheet? Does Open Office convert the doc automatically?

No conversions have been necessary, for me, anyway. Open Office saves and loads in the usual MS Office formats (like *.xls ), if you want it to. It has its own formats but I don't use them - - I just save my files in the MS Office formats instead.

Every day I open and use the same Excel workbook that I had for years before I retired and switched to Open Office. It consists of 26 spreadsheets in one file that I call "retirement.xls", and I have never had trouble opening or saving this workbook or any of my old spreadsheets. Everything is fine - - even the graphs and macros.

Since it is completely, 100% free, you would not have to pay a cent to actually download and play around with Open Office. Then you could see for yourself if it is completely satisfactory for your purposes. Given the complexity of MS Office, this double check might be a good idea!

[bobandsherry]

Those still interested in Microsoft Office 365 Family (up to 6 people) subscription, another great deal to extend (or implement) your subscription. You can have up to 5 years of subscription renewals. I've already got mine extended through 2025

Anyway, Microsoft 365 Family 12 month subscription for $59 (includes AVG 5 device package as well). Enter SAVM365F for promo code for additional $10 discount.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...=Combo.4403403

Or get the Microsoft 365 Family 12 month subscription for $69, includes H&R Block Deluxe+State. Enter SAVM365F for promo code for $10 additional discount.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...=Combo.4434055

[deserat]

Yup-me, too. I also now have another newer laptop I've got as a dual boot Win10/PopOs Linux. The Libre Office suite meets my needs and I haven't had issues with Word compatibility. I will be retiring soon, so the need for a race car in business software will diminish. And, like a previous commenter said, I abhor the idea of renting software, music, books or movies. If I want it, I will buy it and keep my own copy. Otherwise, I'll borrow it from the library.

[grasshopper]

My one W10 laptop won't be converted until TurboTax sends my return.