There is at least one thing I love about living in the United States. The free market and capitalism. The challenge for people and companies to make money means consumers get great products, that keep getting better, and competition, which means low (or at least, competitive) prices.
One area that saw a boom in the free market is face masks.
Think about life before 2020, did you see any masks for sale anywhere? Nope! Maybe some hospital masks tucked away in a random aisle at Walgreens, but even then I bet there were a couple of boxes at most. In the height of the pandemic, there were all sorts of masks with all sorts of designs in all sorts of stores. People saw an opportunity to cash in on the demand for masks, and that’s awesome!
Somewhere along the 2020 timeline, though, I decided to see how long I could go without buying a mask. I’m not sure why I set that goal for myself. Call it a weird challenge or just me being frugal, but I didn’t see the point of buying a mask when it wasn’t too difficult to get them for free around town. Plus, I saw the masks as a temporary thing on which I didn’t want to waste money.
With that said, I do have this mask, which I bought years ago to help with allergies as I mowed the grass or worked in the yard. So, I guess, technically I HAVE bought a mask, but never once did I buy one specifically for the COVID scamdemic, nor did I buy one in 2020 at all.
Is that a “win”? I don’t know. I’d like to think I set higher goals for my life than this but at the same time I am very competitive… so yeah, I totally won. 🙂
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 