I would be lost without mine, I love it. I usually also tape the corners down to make sure they don't get caught under my quilting. The one time I forgot to do this I sewed right through the mat which left it ripped.
Because of the high cost of buying another I just put tape on the backside to hold the two pieces together, put that end to the top, taped down the 4 corners and it's still working fine but I might put it on a wish list for a special occasion, like a Wednesday :-)