postage

9 Things That Cost More in 2016

Mikey Rox — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 18:00:06 +0000

If your New Year's resolutions included trimming the fat from your budget, you'll want to avoid these nine purchases that will see a price hike this year. (See also: 8 Necessities That Will Be Cheaper in 2016)

1. Cable and Satellite TV

NBC recently reported that DirecTV and AT&T's U-verse packages, channel bundles, and premium channels will see increases ranging from $2 to $8 per month, a change that went into effect Jan. 28. Dish Network customers also will experience a similar pricing increase on its bundles, which started on Jan. 14.

Cable industry watchdog Chris Brantner (Mr. Cable Cutter of CutCableToday.com) says these increases are not limited to just a couple companies. In fact, most of the big national names in the cable and satellite TV game will be jacking up prices.

"Comcast is raising its broadcast fee to $5 from $1.75, and its sports programming fee to $3 from $2," he says. "Time Warner is raising both broadcasting and sports fees as well — from $1 to $3.75 and $2.25 to $5, respectively. This seems to be a yearly trend, as pay-TV prices have skyrocketed over the last few years, with average bills breaking $100 a month."

2. Medicare Premiums

If you're retired and new to Medicare Part B, beware. Double-digit price hikes — about 16% over last year — went into effect at the beginning of the year. Previously enrolled Part B recipients aren't faced with the increase because Social Security didn't see a cost-of-living adjustment in 2016, and Medicare payments, by law, are prevented from increasing faster than SS payments. Thus, just consider the $16.90 more you have to pay per month than older retirees your dues for being the new kid on the block.

3. Netflix

Remember back in 2011 when Netflix announced it would increase its then $10 dual streaming-plus-DVD-by-mail combo plan to $16, and the Internet lost its collective mind? Netflix stock dropped 40% after the announcement, and some called on CEO/co-founder Reed Hastings to resign. Because unlimited DVDs, y'all!

Well, Netflix has learned several lessons since then, and while it abandoned all those 2011 plans (including an ill-fated breakaway brand called Qwikster), it raised prices $1 to $8.99 in 2014, and it plans to increase the price of its streaming service by another dollar to $9.99 this May for new customers. If you're already a Netflix subscriber, however, you won't get hit until 2017.

4. Chocolate

If you can't trust Forbes, who can you trust? Its 2016 consumer predictions include higher prices for chocolate. According to the publication, "the Ivory Coast, center of world cocoa production, is under strain from drought — putting the world's chocolate industry at risk."

Better start rationing those leftover Kisses from Christmas.

5. Domestic Wine

If you fancy a nice glass of wine, you may have to switch up what you're drinking — at least from domestic bottlers.

The blog SVB on Wine reports that according to its annual State of the Industry report, 41.74% percent of winemakers plan to implement a small price increase, while another 16.12% are planning a moderate increase in 2016. Another 2.07% are really going for the jugular with a strong increase. Alas, at least 34.71% of respondents will have pity on your pocket when you're at the liquor store: They'll hold prices steady they said, while an additional 5.37% will decrease prices slightly.

6. Postage

A summary of postage rate increases show prices for First Class Mail Letters, metered mail for First Class Mail Letter, and First Class Mail Flats will remain constant into 2016, but most other services will see an increase.

Priority Mail Express recently saw an average rate increase of 15.6%, while traditional Priority Mail has increased 9.4%, as of Jan. 17. Other hikes include 11.6% for Priority Mail Express International, 10.2% for Priority Mail International, and 21.6% for First Class Package International Service.

7. Girl Scout Cookies

Your undying love for the Girl Scouts' Thin Mints will make your wallet a little thinner now that boxes of the good stuff are $5 in some areas like Massachusetts and California, up from $4 last year. Pricing is set based on factors like ingredient costs, market size and availability, and shipping costs. From the new fee structure, troops would receive about $.90 per box sold opposed to the $.62 they made on the $4 box. Expect more troops across the country to adopt the new pricing in 2016.

8. Hotels

MarketWatch reports that according to the 2016 Global Travel Price Outlook, hotel prices around the globe are expected to rise this year, with North America taking the lead with a 4.3% increase. Hotel prices are estimated to increase 1.8% in Europe, 3% in Asia Pacific, and 3.7% in Latin America. Luckily, there are plenty of deals to cash in on — if you're a savvy shopper — and you can also save some dough by booking private short-term accommodations from services like Airbnb and Roomorama.

9. Prescription Medication

Drug companies aren't relenting on seemingly never-ending price increases. The Wall Street Journal reports that Big Pharma players like Pfizer, Amgen, Allergan, and Horizon Pharma "have raised U.S. prices for dozens of branded drugs since late December, with many increases between 9% and 10%, according to equity analysts." Vanda Pharmaceuticals increased by 10% the price of its new drug Hetlioz, which treats a sleep disorder in blind people, resulting in a 76% hike from when it was introduced in 2014.

Has "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli started offering classes on how to rip people off that we don't know about? What are you spending more for this year?

This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Real Value of Forever Stamps

Linsey Knerl — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:27:08 +0000

I’m horribly unorganized to the untrained eye. I’m a “stacker”, which means that while I know the general vicinity of any given piece of paper, it must be culled from a heaping pile of similarly-group items before I can use it. It’s my own method of organization, one that gives my husband the heebie-jeebies. It’s also the reason that just recently I’ve vowed to forever and always purchase the forever stamps.

What are forever stamps? For those who don’t know, they are first-class postage stamps that never decrease in their supposed value. If I buy them today at 42cents, they are good for first-class letters. If I keep them until the price of sending the letter goes up to 43cents, they are still good for first-class letters – no need to hunt down those pesky penny add-on stamps to legitimize my mailing.

Are they a good investment? There’s much debate to this topic. Financial experts claim that it’s an investment better made in something else (like canned goods, maybe?) I agree that postage stamps probably won’t be the next big investment vehicle; they only earn you something when you don’t use them, and then the price of postage goes up enough to justify buying scads of them in the first place. If you’re not a heavy mailer, you’ve really saved nothing.

But if you are a hopeless paper-collector (like myself), they may have a value above and beyond what can be measured by your annual postage budget. There is a certain “I did it again” factor that can be completely avoided by buying these puppies. Here’s how it works:

I am searching frantically for a stamp. Any stamp will do. (It doesn’t have to have Disney princesses or the latest wildlife habitat to tickle my fancy. It just has to be worth 42 cents.) The mail is arriving in 10-20 minutes, and since I’m located 6 miles from the nearest civilization, I’m hoping to find precious postage that will keep me from having to make the drive to town. (Back in the golden days, I could put an unstamped letter and pocket change right in the mailbox, and my postman would mail it for me.) After finding a crumpled-up sheet of stamps, I realize that I don’t know how much they are worth. They simply say “First-Class” but don’t have a monetary value printed on them. I head to the USPS website and do a search on their online store for a stamp that looks like mine, only to find that it is worth 41cents (or possibly even 40cents.) I continue rummaging through my files to find a 1cent stamp that I remember buying just a few months ago. Nothing.

Why o’ why didn’t I just buy forever stamps? (Or maybe you’re wondering why I don’t put my stamps in a special place where I can always find them.) Since it’s easier to change one purchasing habit than it is to reprogram my filing style, I have vowed to do just that. There is one catch:

Some post offices are reluctant to sell them. They won’t deny them to you. They just won’t offer them, either. Similar to other forms of cheap postage (like parcel post), they won’t suggestively sell this budget-friendly option. When I ask to buy a book of stamps, they whip out the beautifully-rendered holiday nutcracker stamps or my weakness, the Jim Henson Muppets series. I usually don’t even consider asking for “forever stamps.”

But all that will change. While many New Year’s Resolutions involve vows to eat less carbs, I’ll promise myself to always buy forever stamps. It will save a few pennies here and there, but it will also save some face. I’m investing in my self-esteem here.

This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

New Postal Rates Are Coming, Should You Stockpile the Forever Stamp?

Xin Lu — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:41:56 +0000

On May 12th, 2008 the United States Postal Office will be raising the following postal rates:

• First class mail one ounce or less: Up one cent to 42 cents
• Post card: Up one cent to 27 cents
• Large envelope, 2 ounces: Up 3 cents to $1.
• Certified mail: Up 5 cents to $2.70
• First-class international letter to Canada or Mexico: Up 3 cents to 72 cents
• First-class international letter to other countries: Up 4 cents to 94 cents

Going forward, the postal service will also adjust the rates every May according to inflation rates. They only have to give a 45 day notice as long as the changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. As a result, millions of people are stocking up on the Forever stamp, which is currently priced at 41 cents. The Forever stamp's cost also rises to 42 cents on May 12th, but Forever stamps purchased at the 41 cent rate can still be used as a first class one ounce stamp without adding postage.

So should you grab as many of these stamps as you can? Well, I think it really depends on how much postage you spend in a single year. If you are only an occasional mail customer like me then purchasing Forever stamps will only save you a few cents a year. However, as Julie Rains points out, you can use the Forever stamp as a 42 cent stamp on mailings costing over 42 cents so stacking the stamps on more expensive mailings could save you a little more. For example, international rates are going up 4 cents to 94 cents so it is possible to use 2 Forever stamps and a 10 cent stamp to cover that cost. The problem with stacking Forever stamps is that it takes a lot of time to save a few cents.

I read a story sometime ago about a man who purchased $8000 worth of Forever stamps as an investment, and I thought that was rather silly because it is probably better to just put that money in a mutual fund or even money market. For the past 36 years postal rate hikes have been lower than the inflation rate. Since the whole point of investing is to beat inflation, betting on Forever stamps is not a very good strategy. Going forward, since President Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006, it is guaranteed that postal rates will not go above an inflation-based ceiling.

Basically, I think that buying too many Forever stamps is probably not a good idea. They are easily destroyed or lost and you cannot deposit them like money. You could easily estimate how many letters you send a year, and multiply that number by five and ten. That would be the max number of Forever stamps I would buy because you would be set for five to ten years. I am sure most of us probably do not need more than a few hundred stamps. Now if the government introduces a Forever gas stamp that guarantees a gallon of gas for today's price, then I would definitely stock up $8000 of that stamp.

This article is from Xin Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: