Because none of you are using the U.S. Postal Service — unless you are deliberately mailing a check you hope gets lost or delayed — that means it’s time for the struggling USPS to raise rates on first-class stamps… by one penny.

The Postal Service filed a notification with regulators today that, starting on January 22, it plans on increasing the price for a first-class stamp to $.45.

It’s the first such price increase in more than two years and it’s expected to bring in around $888 million to the USPS, which is billions of dollars in the hole. The Postmaster General says his people still plan to “aggressively cut costs” as the service attempts to stay afloat.

The one-cent raise is the maximum increase the Postal Service could enact. Its increases are capped by the rate of inflation according to the Consumer Price Index.

Per the Washington Post, here are the increases set to kick in on Jan. 22:

— First-class letters (1 oz.): 1-cent increase to 45 cents.

— Letters weighing additional ounces: Unchanged at 20 cents.

— Postcards: A 3-cent increase to 32 cents.

— Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.): A 5-cent increase to 85 cents.

— Letters to other international destinations: A 7-cent increase to $1.05.

The USPS recently made all first-class stamps into “Forever” stamps, meaning that those stamps you bought a few months ago but haven’t used will not need to be supplemented with additional stamps once the new rate kicks in.

Postal Service says stamp prices are going up [WashingtonPost.com]

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