After three and a half years without an increase, the cost of a first class stamp will go up two cents to $0.39 on January 8, 2006. This increase is part of an approximately 5.4% across the board price hike. I don't know about you, but I can't really complain... I'm still amazed that I can drop a letter in my mailbox and have it delivered to someone else's doorstep across the country for less than forty cents. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best deals around. Read on for a full rundown of the price increases...

-- First-class letter, one ounce, up 2 cents to 39 cents.
-- First-class letter, two ounces, up 3 cents to 63 cents.
-- Post card up 1 cent to 24 cents.
-- Priority Mail, one pound, up 20 cents to $4.05.
-- Express Mail, 8 ounces, up 75 cents to $14.40.
-- Express Mail, 2 pounds, up 95 cents to $18.80.
-- Certified mail up 10 cents to $2.40.
-- Delivery confirmation (priority) up 5 cents to 50 cents.
-- Delivery confirmation (first-class parcels) up 5 cents to 60 cents.
-- Return receipt (original signature) up 10 cents to $1.85.
-- Return receipt (electronic) up 5 cents to $1.35.
-- Money orders up 5 cents to 95 cents.

A quick piece of advice: Keep the price hike in mind when buying stamps in the next month or so. If you get caught with a stockpile of $0.37 stamps in January you'll have to pick up a bunch of $0.02 stamps to piece together the appropriate amount of postage.

[Source: Forbes]

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"Stamp Prices Set to Rise" was first published at fivecentnickel.commortgage calculator