At home, I run my own email server. It's cheap and I have a lot more control over it than if I used someone else, and this means less spam as I'm able to filter before it ever gets sent to the server in the first place.
I used to use Exchange, mostly so I could mimic the environment I had at work, ensuring my applications could be moved from one environment to the next with little modification (and yes, I actually set up internal DNS so the URLs could be the same in all my apps). Anyway, using Exchange for 2 people was like delivering pizza using a semi. Way too much work for such a simple task.
Eventually, Exchange crapped out on me because I didn't manage it correctly and I was forced to find a new email client. Enter Argosoft Mail Server. For $88 I now have one kick ass email server that has some phenomenal features. Great spam protection, easy to use management interface, and the real life saver since my box crashed the other day - a fully functional web email interface. It's not pretty, but it gets the job done. Add on the fact that I get responses to my technical questions extremely quickly and you've got one very satisfied customer.
So, if you're in the market to do your own email, please give Argosoft a try. There's a fully functional demo available, and you might end up loving it as much as I do.