I'm interested in advice without starting a debtate online, so if people
want to just e-mail me answers that's great too. I know most posts are from
users seeking advice and usually that is the case with me but I have been in
the software market on a limited budget and don't know where to turn so
please bear with me. I want to be better equipped to contribute here and
also be adequately equipped to operate as a freelance consultant building
Excel and Access applications, so I am asking about the requisite "tools of
the trade"...

So far I have purchased Office 97 and 2003 Professional, but am missing
2000. Does every self respecting advisor/trainer/developer need 2000? Also,
are the developer toolkits and the Visual Tools (2003) essential if I am
going to build applications for other people? Is an MSDN subscription worth
it if all I plan are the aforementioned? Any responses which help me sort
out my options and neither over-spend not under-prepare are appreciated.

Bill