I am on a disability pension that allows very little to spend
This really changes the picture. Photography is an expensive hobby, even when you've already got image capture under control. We can blithely recommend CS2 and CS3, but not only are they expensive in themselves, they require a fast computer with a recent OS to run on. Then there is the small matter of a photo quality printer and consumables. All of which, added together, can easily break the budget of a small country.
So first things first: what tool are you using for raw conversion? The manufacturer's converter that comes with most dSLRs is rarely worth using. My first thought was to recommend the free RawShooter Essentials, but it doesn't support anything by Fuji. Two other options are the pricey SilkyPix and the beta version of Lightroom, which is likely computer resource intensive. Perhaps you have access to a version of Photoshop Elements that integrates with the free Adobe Camera Raw? (Elements often comes as a freebie on the install CD for a digital camera or other device.)
IAC, it would be well if you can find
some raw converter option that will let you use the PS7 you now have as long as you need to. You can do a lot and learn a lot with PS7. While each version of PS adds new tools, the core set of selection, masks, levels, curves, and cloning, which are already there in PS7, are a good place to start in learning your way around the digital "darkroom".
Many of the new tools in later versions of PS, like Shadow/Highlights and Replace Color, seem to repackage features from the core tools rather than bring anything intrinsically new to the table. So learning the core tools together with slogging through the underbrush of colour management, soft-proofing, and printing will likely keep you well occupied for quite awhile.
For work in contrasty light: On the camera side, combine shooting raw with
expose-to-the-right - or bracket exposures if dealing with static subject matter. Then in your raw converter tweak your exposure such that you just retain all non-specular highlights. Then in PS use some combination of selections/masks and curves to restore the mid tones to what you feel is optimal. Everything you learn about making sophisticated selections and multi-point curves will stand you in good stead into the foreseeable future.
