Adobe Photoshop Elements

I'm quite new to photography and, in particular, have almost no experience of post-production/digital editing. I can't afford (and probably won't need the features of) fully-fledged photoshop, but I've seen photoshop elements online for more reasonable sums.

Is this software worth the money or does it not provide much more in the way of features/tools/useability as opposed to freeware editing software?

Any recommendations appreciated. To give you an idea of how serious I am, I have a Nikon D5000 with a couple of lenses.

O