This can be a touchy subject. Tools are a necessary investment and $4500 is just starting out in this business. This amount will not even get you an empty professional toolbox, but if spent wisely can get you working independently and on your way. Do not plan on your payments going away or getting any smaller. Tool needs grow as you grow as a technician. Consider it part of the cost of doing business. Extortion by tool truck. Have fun shopping for a triple bay box, a scan tool and scope.
These will all pay for themselves, but consider the cost when you are evaluating your career and earnings over time.
There was a comment comparing education and tool costs with respect to return on investment. Don’t fool yourself into thinking an investment in tools, a material thing is going to give you a greater, or even equal, return than an investment in yourself. If you decide to drop the tools and get a degree in Native American Basket Weaving, the results will vary. Overall, results will vary regardless of where you invest, and the choice is personal. You cannot just pay for a degree, you must change personally and have the ability to earn it. Also, do not confuse an investment in tools with an appreciable investment like education or land. You are purchasing something to be able to work, like any small business. Tooling loses value over time. How is that Snap-On brick treating you these days?
I spent about 10 years wrenching and came to a conclusion a few years in that there were two distinct paths for me to be successful and I was at the last intersection. You will either have $60,000 in tools or $60,000 in college costs. This can be applied to more than just automotive work, such as, construction or running some other small business. I was frugal on the tools, but now I have just over $70,000 in student loans. Either way, it takes money to make money.