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Tomorrow the energy cap is set to be increased at a time where people have already noticed a change in their energy bills.
In addition to this, food shopping is said to have increased too with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stating that the cost of a pint of milk increasing by nearly a fifth in a year – one of the biggest price rises among a host of everyday purchases stretching family budgets.
But energy and shopping bills aren’t the only things that are rising as stamps are set to go up in price too.
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It has been reported by the Mirror that stamp prices are due to rise in just under one week.
From April 4, the cost of 1st class stamps will reach 95p, up 10p from 85p meanwhile the price of 2nd class stamps will increase to 68p – up 2p from 66p.
Other stamps rising in price next month include large letter stamps, which will increase to £1.45, up 16p, for 1st class and to £1.05, up 9p, for 2nd class.
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A standard letter can weigh up to 100g and measure a maximum of 24cm x 16.5cm x 5mm whereas larger letters can measure 35.3cm x 25cm x 2.5cm – however they must weigh 100g or less.
Royal Mail confirmed the price hike earlier this month and said it was down to a lack of letters being sent.
A statement released on March 4 said: “Royal Mail has considered these pricing changes very carefully in light of the long term structural decline in letter usage and rising inflation.
“Letter volumes have declined by more than 60% since their peak in 2004/5, and around 20% since the start of the pandemic.”
If you send a lot of letters, it could be a good idea to stock up on stamps now ahead of the price rise.
However, the Royal Mail has announced it is rolling out new barcode stamps – and it means millions of existing ones will no longer be valid without paying extra costs from January 31, 2023.
If you want to use old-style stamps after January 2023, you will need to exchange them for barcoded stamps through the free Royal Mail ‘Swap Out’ scheme which goes live today (March 31 2022) and closes exactly a year later on March 31 2023.
Royal Mail has not yet said if there will be a limit on how many stamps you can swap – so keep that in mind if you’re planning on stocking up in a huge bulk and you may not use them all by January 2023.
The only stamps you’ll be able to use beyond January 2023 are the barcode stamps, collectable stamps and Christmas stamps.
