US Postal Service hikes stamp prices again. Here’s how much you should expect to pay

It just got a little more expensive to send mail in Sacramento — and across the U.S.

Effective Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service’s first-class mail “forever” stamps — commonly used to mail domestic letters — increased to 60 cents from 58 cents. Postcard stamps increased to 44 cents from 40 cents and the cost to ship international letters increased 10 cents to $1.40, according to its website.

Inflation and increased operating expenses are the reasons behind USPS’ new prices.

But the price increase returns for the second time in less than a year. In August 2021, postal officials increased the price of most of its first-class mail up to 10 cents to “help achieve financial sustainability.”

The new mailing prices, announced by the Postal Regulatory Commission in June and approved by the governors of the U.S. Postal Service, raises prices more than 6% — noting it’s lower than U.S. inflation rates, according to the USPS’ website.

Some good news: Forever stamps were designed to help customers during price fluctuations, as they represent the current price at purchase and remain good to use at any time. That means people with forever stamps purchased before Sunday are saving 2 cents a stamp.

Along with new first-class mail prices, the Postal Service is looking to adjust its costs for certified mail, post office box rentals, money orders and mailing insurance, according to its website.

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