Free software is a significant contributor to the achievements of the Help Center and the volunteers. The Websites and Tools page of this wiki is focused on things we use to resolve problems.
This item from PC Magazine covers a lot of ground in the domain of Free Software. Free is usually a good thing. If you find free applications that are beneficial to your goals, consider contributing to the foundation or developers that have made your goals a little easier to achieve.
Here is a more recent, Video, Free Software suggestions.