Per the United States Postal Service earlier this month, inflation is driving the cost of stamps up to new heights. Each stamp used to be 58 cents, and they’ll now go up to 60 cents for each little sticky square. Apparently, like all things, it’s due to inflation, and the new price is a 6.5% increase on the old price, which the USPS would like you to know is a “judicious implementation” of the postal services “pricing authority,” since the annual inflation rate is 7.9% as of the end of February (messaging that seems to be a subtle way of saying “Don’t complain too much, we could have done worse.”). 

The change has been in the works for a while: The USPS first filed notice in April with the Postal Regulatory Commission that they wanted to raise the prices — a motion that was approved on June 9. There are also a few more price hikes the beleaguered USPS has in the works, including post office box rental fees, money order fees, and certified mails, plus the option to buy insurance when you’re mailing something. If you want to look on the bright side, the price hikes will help the USPS invest in its infrastructure. 

While a lot of us have turned to websites and apps to do the things we used to use stamps for (pay bills, apply for college, send invitations), there are still many people who prefer to do things the paper way. One 60-cent stamp will let you send a one-ounce letter domestically, and other mailings are getting more expensive, too: sending a one-ounce letter internationally has gone up 10 cents from $1.30 to $1.40, and metered mail weighing an ounce has jumped four cents from 53 cents to 57.