I also usually do exactly the same. I do not mind waiting a little (usually 2 to 3 months). The most important thing is to get some good discount!
I've been burned before by crappy games with big hype and an expensive price tag. I preordered Civ 6 because I was a huge fan of the series, and come the first day of the release I ended up not liking it, and even refunding it an hour later. Wasted my time waiting, but at least I didn't waste my money on such a purchase. The one good thing about buying on Steam is that you get to refund anything as long as doesn't have 2 hours of playtime.
I stopped "hand me down" games and trading when I could afford my own. Most of the stuff I traded or got through gifts were used and barely able to play the game. Most of them die halfway through while playing, leaving me to purchase the actual game myself just to finish. That's why I hate console games back then. You can't survive without the disc. At least with PC it's one installation and it's on your PC permanently.
My personal limit is 50% discount. Below that I won't touch, unless I really like the game. For absolutely free games (from a promo or a limited time), then it's a no-brainer, I'll get it no matter what it is. I don't know, there's something about free that I just can't say no to.
I only pre-ordered once in my life. Civ 6. The hype was real. I had hundreds of hours playing Civ 3 as a kid, and I had 300+ hours clocked on Civ 5 before Civ 6 got announced. So of course I got it. Opening day, I already had it downloaded; only waiting for the game to unlock. Played it for an hour. Refunded it and got I think $60 back into my Steam account. Worst game ever, too many changes from the old games. Never touched pre-orders ever again, and I just dodged a bullet since I was nearly over the 2 hour refund limit.
