I just put a pair of Aquilines on my B7800 and, with my steep driveway, snow on top of ice, it made all the difference in the world. No having to take the blower out of float just to move forward!
And unfortunately by then, it's usually too late. I too had been putting off buying rear chains for years. I've been able to get by with just front chains. The first snow we got this year convinced me it was time to bite the bullet. I was tired of slipping and sliding around on my neighbors drives. With all the snow we've gotten so far, this was probably one of my smarter moves. No way I could have gotten around as well as I have without the chains. They should be standard equipment on tractors.