Do you practice delayed gratification?  When do you decide how to apply it or not?  This year my DH and I have seen an awful lot of entertainment and fun.  We’ve been to a hockey game, baseball game, play, two concerts, a broadway show, and later in the year a musical.  Now I will admit we got most of these tickets at or below face value because my heart wasn’t set on going so we wait until the last minute to pick up tickets from people unable to go.  I hope this doesn’t happen to us with the musical my DH really wanted to see in September.

In a way I guess we practice delayed gratification everytime we buy these tickets because we determine we’re only going if we get a great deal.  Sometimes it has to be 50% off for us to decide it’s worth it.  Other times we’ll pay close to face value minus the fees.

But most recently we’ve been talking more and more about the Playstation 3.  The playstation 3 has been out since 2006 starting at $699!  Currrently it can be had for a more palatable $399.  We’ve been interested in buying a PS 3 because we wouldn’t mind the blue ray DVD player and there are a couple of PS 3 games we’d like to play.

We currently have a Wii which we bought when it first came out.  That costs us nothing because we flipped multiple consoles to pay for it.  And it’s price point was only $249.  But it’s been tough to swallow spending $399+ for a PS3.  We’ve been waiting since the end of last year for a price cut to the PS 3 actually.  We both felt with the drop off in sales and the weakening economy, wouldn’t Sony want to move the PS 3?  Turns out not.

But how long should we keep on practicing delayed gratification?  How long and how cheap will it have to be for us to determine it’s worth pulling the trigger and buying?

FWIW, I’ve looked on craigslist at used PS 3, and many people are selling them but unwilling to discount the prices.  They are willing to sell it for $350 instead of $399 and at that value, I’d prefer a brand spanking new PS 3.  So when will people realize that the economy is hurting and people aren’t interested in spending?

I had to wait until the day of or day before to get my stellar deals on my music tickets.  But I was willing to gamble and wait.  I was rewarded for my patience.  I wonder how much longer do I have to wait for Sony to decide that $399 for a gaming system is a lot?

Have you practiced delayed gratification lately?