As someone that literally uses his tools to make a living and buys
specific tools for specific purposes, I can say that most folks never
use their tools to their potential,

Surely, I fall under that category. Case in point is my torque wrench.
I may only use it once or twice a year, to attach a lawnmower blade or a
sparkplug. I have relatives that "do without", but I wouldn't be without
it (I'm such a "beast" I would screw stuff up : ) ). I'm soon ready to
use again one of those oscillating tools, that were highly-touted here,
to remove some thin-set (from under a few tiles). I'm learning that to
use tools to their potential, you have to put a little effort into how
they can be used. It wouldn't take long to persuade me to buy an angle
grinder from HF, I just have to learn more about what I'm going to do
with it. For instance, is it any good for demolition? I've got a too
damn-well built "umbrella table" that my wife got from free 5 years
ago. Cut the legs off yesterday with my ($25 HF) reciprocating saw
(another tool I use a few times a year, at best). The 8' table top must
still weight 50 pounds (I like to put it in trash bags). It's got a
heavy duty angle-iron steel frame under the top. A bit of a errant
post, but you can see I'm using a few tools, if not using them "to their
potential".

Cheers,
Bill