On Memorial Day our family went over to a friend's house. They had recently gotten a Wii Balance Board, which is basically a high-tech scale with pressure sensors that measure your left-right balance, your front-back balance, and your weight.
The software that came with the unit is Wii Fit, which is a nice graduated workout program that emphasizes balance in addition to promoting aerobic, strength, and flexibility training.
I had a blast playing with the board. Even though I'm fat right now, the level of the activities was such that I could participate, and even do well at once in a while. It was so much fun it hardly seemed like exercise, but I could definitely feel it then and the next day.
I had a feeling that this would be something that I could stick with long enough to get me over the hump and in the habit of exercising, but I was a bit concerned with how much it cost. I figured it would be at least $600 to outfit us with the system, since we had neither the console nor the balance board, and our TV was just about too small to work. Actually, it was even worse than that: there's a bit of a Wii shortage going on now, and people were paying over $400 for a console and a balance board when I checked on eBay.
I paid $436.76 for the console and the balance board. The seller included the receipt from GameStop for the console: $249.99. The retail price of the Wii Balance Board is $89.99. So I paid about twice retail for the Balance Board. I didn't even know I had done this until Nickel was asking me about the system. I just figured at the time that if people were bidding, and paying, that much for the systems on eBay that it must be a fair deal. (After all, it's nowhere near Christmas.) But had I waited until the shortage was solved, then I could have gotten the system for $50 to $100 less.
When Nickel pointed this out to me, I went “ouch” — I've even suggested before that it's better to wait than to pay more than retail for scarce things — but even had I known that there was a shortage, I might have bought anyway, just so I didn't procrastinate anymore. We had also been talking about exercising (he's rowing) and as I was chatting with him I realized that my decision to buy the Wii system was not really that dependent on cost.
I saw my best shot at getting into shape, and I took it. If I had waited a couple of months, I could have gotten it for less, but that would have been two months that I likely wouldn't have exercised too much. Then, when two months rolled around and I could walk into the store easily to get one, I'd be wondering if I should wait to get them on eBay later. And so forth. Waiting to get a better deal would be a good excuse to procrastinate.
I just finally decided that fitness was more important than saving a few bucks. And so far, I've exercised every day.
Does this strike a nerve with anyone?
Congratulations on your wii fit. I hope it works out for you. Umm, no pun intended.
FYI and anyone else looking to get a wii. http://www.wiialerts.com is a good site that tracks availability. No, I have nothing to do with the site but it did help me find a wii at retail price. The wiis have been short in supply for like a year and a half now and I'm not sure if it's easing up any time soon.
I paid retail price at a Walmart in Mesquite Nv, and I agree getting started when you are motivated is the right thing to do.
I find telling myself that I'm waiting for a better deal is a good way of procrastinating on something I don't need. It's like the whole "wait 30 days and see if you still want it."
If I do need it, it's another story.
Absolutely the right thing to do. I pay $88/month for a gym membership that is 3 blocks away instead of $30/month for one that is 3 miles away simply because I KNOW I will always find a reason not to drive 3 miles out of my way to workout. So far, I have stuck to my workout routine for 3 months straight. This is the first time in my life I've been able to do that and it's worth it for health and sanity.
I think procrastination is a pandemic here in the US.
My husband works at a game store as his second job, so we're constantly on the lookout for various games & systems for friends – for exactly this reason. It hurts to know how much people will pay (possibly overpay) if they can't wait for a good deal.
I think a lot of people do the same thing with appliances – rather than looking around for a deal, they wait until the appliance dies, at which point they have to replace it RIGHT AWAY without being able to wait for a good sale.
That said, I've been seriously considering Wii Fit myself, since I am pregnant and while I'm supposed to get daily exercise, I'm not allowed to do anything "strenuous". But I need to save up the money from our discretionary fund. In the meantime, I can always go use the pool in our backyard, or play some Wii Sports, as long as I don't overdo it.
My wife was pestering me for a Wii Fit for months, and when I didn't come home with one on the first day they were out, she was devastated. I informed her that she gets bored with absolutely everything, so why shell out $100 for a game.
Well, a month later, I walked into Best Buy today after a trip to Home Depot (right next to each other) and asked a worker if they got any in stock. He said "yes, I'll go get it for you". I was wondering if he was playing a joke until he came walking out with the Wii Fit.
I spent about 45-60 minutes per week checking with the Best Buys around me, waiting for them to get one in stock because I refused to overpay for one online. Sure enough it was at the same Best Buy that I got the Wii…after waiting for about 9 months after it released to buy it.
There is definitely some gray area in "value" when you invest in yourself. I think this is where you have to make a judgment call and see if it fits with your comfort level.
I paid a little more for my Wii as well, but it saved me from having to wait an unknown amount of time. Also the seller included sales taxes in the price, so it didn't seem bad.