Culver City Observer -

It will cost you more to mail packages and letters through the United States Postal Service. That's because stamps have gone up in price. The increase took effect on Sunday January 21.

If you have stamps at home, don't worry, they're forever stamps and they're still good. Just like the name, they are forever, no matter when you purchased them. However, the cost to buy them is going up.

The cost now is up two cents per stamp, which means it will now cost 68 cents rather than 66 to send first-class mail.

This marks the fifth rate increase by the USPS since August 2021 when a forever stamp increased to 58 cents. It also comes on the heels of a July postage hike.

In announcing the latest increase, USPS said higher rates are needed to offset inflation and the "effects of a previously defective pricing model."

These cost increases haven't come without controversy - with critics saying the rapid price increases are unprecedented and causing folks to stop using the mail.

The current postmaster has a 10-year plan to improve profits, which has included a slowdown in delivery of standard mail to six days from its previous goal of 3-day delivery anywhere in the country.

Besides stamps, priority mail and ground prices are also going up by more than five percent.