Sometimes Forever isn't forever.
Come Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service is raising the price on its Forever stamps to $0.45. That's a $0.01 price increase on what consumers and businesses pay for the first-class Forever stamp.
For folks who use snail-mail for their correspondence, now may be a good time to estimate how many stamps you may use in a year and buy the Forever stamps in bulk at the current $0.44 price before the Sunday deadline.
Consider it a hedge against inflation. These Forever stamps can be used, well, forever.
So if the day ever rolls around where it costs $0.75 to send a first-class letter, the savvy consumer or business can slap the same Forever stamp he or she bought for $0.44 on the letter and be good to go. The Postal Service will still deliver the letter to its destination.
This is the first time the Postal Service has raised the rate on Forever stamps since May 2009.
Other coming increases include a $0.03 jump for postcards, to $0.32. For international mail, a 1-ounce letter to Mexico or Canada will rise $0.05, to $0.85, with other destinations climbing by $0.07, to $1.05.
"The overall average price increase is small and is needed to help address our current financial crisis," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in a statement. "We continue to take actions within our control to increase revenue in other ways and to aggressively cut costs. To return to sound financial footing we urgently need enactment of comprehensive, long-term legislation to provide the Postal Service with a more flexible business model."
In other words, don't take this price increase and go "postal" on your neighborhood post office. The Postal Service, too, is trying to keep its head above water in these tough economic times.
