I have had my IMC for 3 years and fall into the 'its there to get me out of trouble brigade' although I do try and keep in some sort of practise although no where near one instrument approach a month.
I certainly would not go flying if the vis was 5km or less with a cloud base of less than 1200'. The reason I choose these self set minimums is that should everything go pair shape I want to give myself the best chance of doing something about it. The lower you see the ground the easier to get it wrong - but that is my own opinion, add to that partial panel and real unusual attitudes, without an instructor is not really for me.