Remember when it only cost a quarter to instantly get in touch with someone from a payphone? Then we all got nostalgic when the price started creeping up, until cell phones made that fond remembrance less of misty, water-colored memory. Now it costs almost two quarters to send a less-than-instant letter or card, with the new price of first-class stamps rising from $0.46 to $0.49. Kick in, nostalgia!

While yes, email is free, there are those who still like to send a letter or card the old-fashioned snailmail way. That snail is still traveling at his same pace but is charging three pennies more to carry your missive by way of the United States Postal Service.

Of course, there is always the option of buying a bunch of Forever stamps at the current price just in case prices go up again, which they inevitably will.

It’s not like this price hike is a big shock — consumers usually get some warning when this will happen, as they did in December when regulators approved an increase first proposed in September of last year.

The last time stamps went up in price was a year ago when the USPS tacked on a penny to the $0.45 it had cost previously. Let’s hope this three-cent tick at least goes toward digging the USPS out of its $5 billion hole, although that would mean mailing a whole lot of birthday cards.

Again? First-class stamp price rises to 49 cents [Associated Press]

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