I want a Wii. I really really want one. I’m an avid female gamer and I am dying to play Trauma Center: Second Opinion so I can use Nintendo’s innovative remotes to perform surgery. I want to play Cooking Mama where you race against the clock to mash, slice, cut, and stir based on “real-world receipes.” I want to bring the Wii over to my parents’ house and watch my mom play tennis and my dad try to bowl.

I had one. Actually I had five. I stood in line at Walmart at 6am and was 30th in line at EB Games. I picked up the one I preordered at FYE because no one knew FYE was doing preorders. I got the last one at Game Stop by sheer luck and won a lottery at Costco. I sold them all. At a profit margin of $100-$200, hype paid for the Wii I will pick up when hype cashes in for the year and disappears until next holiday season.

I am amazed at the markup people are paying for the Wii because either they are addicted to instant gratification or they feel that if they don’t get it for their kids in time for Christmas, they will be deeply and forever traumatized. Perhaps not giving in to the demands of instant gratification is the only way we can start slowing ourselves down before we burn out trying to catch up to each other. It’s also a great way to save money.

It's hard enough trying to be a smart spender by finding discounts and balking at paying retail price. It's quite another to pay a premium for no other reason than "I don't want to wait 2 months."

Of course, I have no right to judge. There are those with the luxury of spending without thought or caution. If I were rich, maybe I'd figure, why should I wait? But this is wisebread after all. So give yourself and those you love the gift of patience and consumer control this year for Christmas. Otherwise you might as well tell your kids that Santa operates a bank under the Christmas tree. Hype is expensive. Don’t pay for it.