Photo editing softwares

From the beginning, I have been using Picasa for editing all my photos (typically for adding my signature). I always wanted to move to Photoshop - but is too expensive :-( Photoshop Elements seemed to be the only option. I started looking for deals even on the PSE!!
Finally I got it for $29 from newegg.com !! But I am yet to learn it fully even after several months. But I found you tube to be immensely helpful -

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=photoshop+elements+8+tutorial&aq=1

I found the software to be quite advanced and useful.

But here is the good news - have you even heard of GIMP? I heard it from my son! It is actually as good as Photoshop elements. But the best part is - it is FREE!! Open source package.
Try it out - http://www.gimp.org/

Some help - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gimp+2.6+tutorial&aq=2

Download it and play around. It is fun!

If you are intimidated by complex softwares - then Picasa is the way to go - really easy to use while being able to do most stuff about photos -

http://picasa.google.com/#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=picasa

Let's edit and change some faces!