Microsoft 365 license ending, what other options are available, WPS Office?

I’ve been using Microsoft Word and Excel ever since I graduated college (which was a few years ago), and I’ve always assumed my alumni license was permanent. But I just got a notification saying my Microsoft 365 access will expire next month, and I’ll lose everything unless I start paying. I’m pretty frustrated; apparently it wasn’t a lifelong benefit after all.

What really stings is that I recently turned down a good deal on Office 2021 with a perpetual license, and now I’m stuck. I’m considering my options:

• Pay for Microsoft 365 (not thrilled about the subscription model)
• Buy Office 2021 at full price (more expensive now)
• Look into alternatives like WPS Office, which also has WPS AI for extra writing and editing help

Has anyone else been in the same situation? If I switch to WPS, will it offer enough Word/Excel functionality to handle my freelance projects and personal finance sheets? And does the AI side of things actually help with advanced editing or data organization?