A Postal Increase Roundup

This week, Jim Wang at Bargaineering got my attention by telling his readers about the coming Stamp Price Increase on Jan 22, 2012. It’s only going up a penny, from 44 cents to 45.  I think it’s too low, actually. With more and more people banking on line, there are very few bills I pay by mail. I send out returned DVDs to Netflix (which are prepaid) and the occasional greeting card. The post office is having trouble balancing its budget, and a jump right to fifty cents would go a long way to fix this.

At Frugal Dad I read about What Durbin’s Amendment Means for Your Debit Card Use.  I’m sticking with my 2% cash (into a 529 account) but if you use a debit card, be careful, you might start to see some unwelcome fees. Check out FD’s article and don’t get caught by surprise.

At families.com, Meal Planning for Savings.  Some ideas here to save both money and time by a bit of planning ahead. We can all use a little more of both.

FreeMoneyFinance shared an article on How to Live Well on $40,000 a Year.  With median family income just about $50K, a good number of us are living at $40K or less. For those making more, it’s never too late too learn to live beneath your means.

Emmie at Master Your Card offered 6 smart ways to use your credit card.  I’m in the same camp as Emmie in that I believe that you have a choice, you can be a slave to your cards or you can master them. If you are disciplined and don’t spend money you don’t have, you should be able to use cards to your benefit.

And last this week – from Kevin at No Debt Plan – 3 Tactics to Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster. The article is great for those who want to be debt free faster. The warning I’d offer is to be sure (a) you have no credit card debt, and (b) you are depositing to your retirement account enough to get the match (if offered) from your employer. After that, pay that mortgage down if you wish.