[mintacular]

I am in the same boat, same timeline as you, maybe a couple years earlier. This is what I've done:

1. Buying more raw than graded, graded is where the hype pricing exists. Then I send in to SGC for $30/pop.
2. I've had to accept buying 1 to 2 grades lessor, come around to cards with more wear
3. I started an under $20 & z-folio binder and top loader binder $100 and under of 80s-90s childhood cards or modern local stars (ex: Sidney Crosby). This allows me to buy cards but not overspend, i.e. "scratch the itch" until vintage comes back down a little bit (I hope)
4. Figure out which vintage cards that are deservedly higher now (like Jackie Robinson) and just bite the bullet and pay more.
5. Try to find more old school dealers or motivated sellers that aren't trying to overprice everything
6. Catalogue/ rescan your current collection (started using Flikr, Google Excel to document all my cards). You could also look at finding ways to redisplay your current collection and buying hobby related supplies instead of cards (ex: wall displays, etc.)

Anyway, I feel your pain but there are some ways around it (sort of). In short, I am trying to feel gratitude for what I DO have rather than regretting what I don't...