Unpopular opinion: your circular saw blade is probably backwards and nobody told you
A guy named Dale at my local lumber yard in Sacramento watched me fight through a 2x4 for like 5 minutes and finally asked if my blade was on right. Turns out I had it reversed for almost 2 years, and he said he sees it constantly with DIY folks who buy their first saw. Flipped it and the same cut took 8 seconds. Anyone else get humbled by a simple fix like that?