According to the USA.gov blog, the price of a forever stamp will increase by 1 cent on January 22, 2012. The cost of a stamp in 2012 is set at 45 cents. This is a 2.27% postage rate increase from the 2011 price of 44 cents.
Did this answer your question about stamp prices? If so, hit the +1.
Postcards will also see a hike in price equal to 3 cents, which means you will pay 32 cents to mail postcards. If you want to mail a letter to Canada or Mexico, you will pay 85 cents (up 5 cents since 2011). Surprisingly, the cost to send international letters will increase by 7 cents ( $1.05 in 2012).
Buy Forever Stamps Now to Make 2.27% Return
With the price of stamps increasing by 2.27%, you can easily avoid the hike in price by purchasing forever stamps anytime between now and January 22, 2012. Doing so will provide a 2.27% return on your money, though it’s not much to write home about (sorry…I couldn’t resist). Before you buy enough stamps for the next 10 years, consider putting your money to better use in an investment account like Betterment, which gives you $25 when you invest $250 – a cool 10% return right away! Check out my review of Betterment here.
In case you were wondering…
- The first stamp was issued for sale on July 1, 1847. It cost 5 cents to mail a letter within 300 miles and 10 cents to deliver mail beyond 300 miles.
- The Post Office employs over a half of a million workers and has recently been under fire because of its decreasing revenue and projected default on their bills.
- You can find a change of address checklist in this article we wrote.
Do you remember what a stamp cost when you were a kid? If you’re brave enough to share it in the comments, we’d love to know!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I pay all my bills online and only use stamps a couple times a year. You can save a couple hundred dollars a year on stamps alone. Forever stamps is definitely worthwhile though.
We use stamps all the time, so this is great information to have. Thank you very much for the great information, and thanks for the little history lesson too!
Thanks,
Timothy
Thx for the update on stamps. I use a few stamps a month but will need to buy some more for Christmas cards. Yes, I’m still old fashioned in using a Christmas card. I think there’s more value for the receiver.
I couldn’t remember what stamps where when I was younger but when I was a kid they were about 20 cents. This a good link for those who want to see what stamps cost when they were younger. http://www.akdart.com/postrate.html It goes all the way back to 1863.
That’s a cool link. Thanks!
i belive we expect to much for 45 cents, instead of the postal service losing billions, raise the price of stamps to .50 cents and start making it a profitable business. you have to pay .99 or more for a money order and people dont complain. its time that the postal service come in to the 20th century with there prices !! rain,sleet,snow. or shine is worth 50 cents !!
So glad I read this post. I knew it was coming but I wasn’t sure when. I mail something (for payroll so important) about 3 times a month but don’t want that coming back to me and delaying my paycheck.
As for stamp prices, I’m ok with a cool 50cents and I think canceling Wednesday delivery would be ok too. I’m not against it, except on the days when I’m waiting for something important.
I received mail back and a tag that said
I received mail back for and a tag that said RETURNED FOR 1.05 POSTAGE?????
i have forever stamps 2008 if so how many stamps should i put on my mail???
You can always find the current price of stamps at getcurrents.com
I am72 years old and I remember when I was a kid growing up in St. Louis MO. that we had 3 cent stamps. Everything was a lot cheaper then. It was a fabulous time gropwing up in the late 30′s and early forties.