My friend Sarah sends her son a silly postcard every week at summer camp. “It’s our ritual,” she said. Last year, she spent an extra $12 on stamps just to keep the tradition alive. That’s a pizza she could have had.
USPS Announces Price of Stamps Going Up...Again
Then there’s my neighbor, Mr. Chen, who pays all his bills by check. He’s 82 and doesn’t trust online banking. For him, a stamp price increase isn’t an inconvenience—it’s a monthly math problem he never asked for.
The Annoying Math
Let’s do some quick backyard math. If you send 10 letters a month—holiday cards, bills, a note to your aunt—a 13-cent jump (from 66 to 79 cents) costs you an extra $15.60 a year. That’s a latte and a half. Not life-altering, but still annoying.
For small businesses, it’s worse. I know a local bakery that mails out 200 monthly flyers. That’s an extra $312 a year. That’s a cake they could sell. Stamps are the quiet tax on small dreams.
