My list of pertinent freebies.

• If you're unemployed and work in Architecture, you can get free software from Autodesk, to get you up to speed with the current software, including Revit.
  
• In the same line of thought, if you're in Architecture (or any creative field) and you haven't already introduced yourself to Google's SketchUp software, you should definitely do so ASAP. It's fairly intuitive to understand, and a heck of a lot easier to use than AutoCad, to create 3D. Try the free version instead of the limited-trial Pro version.
  
• So you think that you need AutoCad and their packaged Viz renderer, to produce beautiful renderings? Think again. If you're using SketchUp, there is a free software called Kerkythea, that allows you to create complex renderings. As with any complicated renderer, the more CPU cores you have, the faster it'll work (native support for selectable number of cores). And as with any renderer, it is extremely complex - if not for the simple reason that it is incredibly flexible - so you shouldn't expect to learn everything overnight.
  
• If you can't afford Photoshop (though I think Photoshop is unsurpassed), then you might try either the GNU, freeware GIMP, or the GUI-altered (to look like Photoshop) GIMPshop.
  
• If you can't afford Illustrator or the CS4 Design Suites, I strongly suggest considering Inkscape as an alternative.
  
• Do you need to eat instead of spending money on an office suite software? You should seriously consider using Open Office. From the first public version of the Star Office Suite from Sun, I have been using the Open Office platform at home since 2000, and while the UI is different, it is nearly as good - if not better in some areas - as that of MS Office. Best of all of course, is that it's all free.
  
• The word might not have already spread to you, but you can create free PDF files from any software of your choosing, by using CutePDF. CutePDF is a printer emulator, which means that when you print a document, it'll show up as a printer, where the output is a PDF file. Life doesn't get any easier than that.
  
• Need to cut down on your music purchases, but hate the commercial broadcast radios? Stream music from the internet! You can either choose to create your own genre based on the artists you choose from, at Slacker Radio, or you can select from thousands of existing genre-based radio stations, including Hawaiian music, from Shoutcast.
  
• Better yet, if your musical taste borders on electronic and eclectic, you might go directly to Soma.fm and stream directly from there. At Soma.fm, you can select a bitrate stream that is appropriate for your internet connection.
  
• Want a free breakfast once a month? Go to your local Ikea's monthly Seize the Days. You can get a free small breakfast and coffee for free, usually from 9:30 to 10:30 am.
  
• Of course by now, everyone already knows about Hulu, where you can stream old episodes of many television shows, and a handful of movies.
  
• Did you know that many books with expired copyrights are free to download from Google Books? The copyright expirations vary widely, depending upon the situation, as you can see from this listing, but in general, all the classic novels are free on Google Books.