"I’ve made it an indispensable part of my work" And that's why Mathematica is indispensable to you—familiarity and use have made it indispensable. The trouble

"I’ve made it an indispensable part of my work" And that's why Mathematica is indispensable to you—familiarity and use have made it indispensable. The trouble is that it's a chicken and egg problem, with the program being so expensive many won't have access to it to try it—some of whom, if they'd had access, would have progressed to your situation. A program like Mathematica only becomes indispensable to a person after he/she has had access to it for long enough to become familiar with its workings and for the person to actually benefit from the program's features—here that is to provide quick mathematical solutions to problems that would otherwise take a long time or require tedious workings out. Thus, it's little wonder that so many are looking for cheaper alternatives—as they simply haven't developed the experience necessary to arrive at the same conclusion that you have. It's unfortunate that's the situation exists and that there aren't more products capable of competing with Mathematica that have a similar UI experience and calculating granularities.