Stamps are more expensive now. Here's how much more you'll pay to drop a letter in the mail
Source: CNN Business
New York (CNN Business) Maybe this counts as good news in a time of painful price increases for necessities such as food, fuel and housing: The cost of a US postage stamp just increased by a mere 2 cents. That raises the cost of mailing a first-class letter by 3.4%, to 60 cents — unless you still have a bunch of "forever stamps" that you bought at a lower price. A price hike that modest seems almost quaint given that overall consumer prices are up 9.1% year over year, the fastest pace in 40 years. First-Class mail prices are up about 6.5% overall following the latest hikes.
Metered mail went up 4 cents, or 7.5%; sending a postcard (remember those?) now costs 44 cents, a 10-cent hike; and overweight First-Class mail will increase 20%, to 24 cents per additional ounce. "As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan," the USPS said in a statement, referring to its plan to invest $40 billion in upgrading its infrastructure. "With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping."
But the 2-cent hike won't bring in much more money for the USPS for one reason: Americans aren't sending nearly as much mail as they used to. As a result, First-Class mail in general — and individual letters in particular — are far less important to the Postal Services' revenue stream now than in years past. Last year 13.5 billion letters were mailed out. But that comes to only about two pieces of mail per US household per week. eople have found other ways to communicate — and to pay their bills — than putting a stamp and an envelope and dropping it in a mailbox.
The number of individual letters mailed last year fell 8.4% from the year prior, and is down 45% from where it was just a decade ago, in fiscal year 2011. he number of individual First-Class letters doesn't count most of the other mail jamming your mailbox, such as bank statements and other direct mail from businesses. There were 35.6 billion of those last year, or more than five per household per week.
Then there were another 41 million pieces of what the USPS generously calls "marketing mail," and most consumers know as junk mail.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/economy/stamp-price-increase
I actually forgot about this and had just bought some stamps a couple weeks ago.
I don't know if it's been factored in (and it should be despite FUCKING DEJOY) but you have more states doing "mail voting". So having that happen through the year for primaries, special elections, and the general election, is an income stream that has increased over the past couple years.
= new reply since forum marked as read
as I know some people pile up packages (often those mailer envelopes) with stamps that have some value on them to try to estimate the first class rate.
https://store.usps.com/store/results/_/N-1p172hzZ1gewhfyZqvz3mjZizv7mlZ1o5cmz1Z18ninmz
https://store.usps.com/store/results/_/N-175o9paZ1seusz2ZmqlxuoZv9trty
I get USPS's philatelic catalog (I guess that is sent out once a year). Quite a bit of stuff in there.
I used to work not far from what is still a working Post Office at the location adjacent to Ben Franklin's house here in Philly (the house, no longer standing, actually used for postal duties) - the "B. Free Franklin Post Office", and they sell quite a bit of commemorative stamps like that.
Frame showing location of Franklin's house (the post office above is in the background lower center of below - I believe that building with the 2 chimneys)
Especially when something is important and I need to track it.
Priority Mail isn't the same thing as "overnight" because it will take 2 to 3 days to get there. But I can track it online and even receive notification when it's delivered. So the cost of Priority Mail is up to $8.95 now. I remember when it was about $5.00!
store credit card payments are by phone. I use pay pal and thats about it taxes & water sewer are a stop at the town hall, they take electronic payments but its too expensive. When I'm really in a bind I write a check to myself and do a deposit with a photo to another bank. 
of old school mailing and online, where a bunch automatically switched me after I tried it one time (and that was during the early part of the pandemic), I have even deposited checks "in person" (well using the drive-through) and the teller would say - "You could have done this with the app!!11!!1!!!1!!". And I'm like yeah, but then you'd lose your job! 
