Grrrrrrr.

I am trying to do photo editing without Photoshop and it's driving me crazy. I downloaded a couple of free apps off the internet, but none of them are as easy as Photoshop and it's driving me NUTS. Mainly, the other apps don't seem to have an easy to use masking feature like Photoshop. Is it possible to buy Photoshop for home use? I should look into it, because God knows I don't need the $600 version, but there has got to be an easier way.