I have an original as well (the higher of the two models) - I know what you mean - I need to change mine more often but the price of new ones is staggering (in Australia at least! The consumables seem to be twice the price here, the long carrier mat alone is AU$50). Going to run some experiments with sharpening older blades soon and see if that’s easy/effective enough to keep a small diamond card or strop nearby like I do with my hand tools for leather cutting.
I rarely cut cardstock, but glitter vinyls and the mesh backing on some other vinyls kills my blade in just a couple of sheets as well.