Following up the success of the first "Forever Stamps"—a First Class stamp that can be bought at today's prices and used well, forever—the USPS has just launched another.
First in the USPS's Social Awareness series, each of the 16 stamps on the sheet offers low and no-cost tips to save energy and natural resources. And the predominant color is green. Naturally.
For instance, the stamps suggest using reusable shopping bags... fixing water leaks... using energy efficient light bulbs... maintaining tire pressure... switching off lights when not in use.
You know the drill. You've heard it before. These are the simple things that your parents tried to tell you about responsible behavior. Now the USPS is telling you, too.
Nag. Nag. Nag. Maybe you should listen this time.
But beyond the obvious value of preserving life on earth, there may be a financial benefit to using these stamps. Actuaries and Uncle Scrooge, take note!
Consider this: If you send 200 Christmas cards each year and you figure you've still got 30 Christmases ahead of you, that's 6,000 stamps you'll be licking in December. Maybe you mail 20 birthday cards, bills and miscellaneous whatnots each month. 20 x 12 months in a year x 30 years. That's another 7200 stamps over 30 years. Total: 13,200 First Class stamps in your future.
Buy in bulk today and pay just 44 cents forever. So even if rates go up, you're protecting your position at 44 cents.
No more postal inflation. Future rate hikes be damned! For a measly $5808 investment today you've protected yourself against future First Class postage rate increases.
Buy today and save enough $$$ in 50 years to put your great grandchildren through college! Or at least buy them a beer after class.
Now if the USPS simply invests that $5808 at 8%, in 64 years it will be worth big bucks! The mind boggles with possibilities. It's like buying futures when you can actually see into the future. It's so good it oughta be illegal.
The mind also boggles with possibilities of what will happen to our planet if more of us don't recycle, conserve water and use less energy. $4 a gallon for gas is just the tip of the iceberg. Oh yes, and the real icebergs—and the polar bears, walruses and seals who depend on them—will soon be just a bittersweet memory, relegated to the History Channel.
So consider this stamp a winning trifecta. Save the planet, just a bit, save some $$ in the bargain, and maybe most important of all, get ego-boosting "I told you so" points for reminding your less-than-aware friends about the importance of conserving our natural resources.
Way to go, Post Office!
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