Setting up a virtual machine - windows - for first time

I am just getting a mini I am setting up online. I am very excited. One last app I cant do without is coming out with a mac version but its not ready yet. From what I understand, I can install and run this app by setting up a virtual machine. I found this guide so I am starting here.
http://guides.macrumors.com/Booting_Windows_on_the_Mac

It looks like Parallels is around $80 for what I want to do. Is there any freeware options to do this? I only need it for one program... and hopefully not for a long time.

Thank you for the suggestions, I am going to check them out and will post when I get one working. The guide doesn't mention those, maybe its worth adding for future reference.

iThinksimple said:

maybe you can try Winebottler
http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/

but doesn't guarantee the application will run perfectly, maybe you should try it by yourself,
BTW what the software would you use?

Click to expand...

The software in question is Beyond Compare. Its a file comparison app that I use to synch files via FTP to / from the webserver. I also use it to handle my external harddrive backups. It just makes it real easy to see what files changed and very efficiently select & move files. Its pretty much at the center of my workflow. Some options and the software I mention are discussed more in another thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1520208/

Edit: Looks like I may be trying to install CS3 this way too. is this common?