If the last time you purchased a postage stamp was forever ago, get ready for your next visit to the post office.

The U.S. Postal Service raised the price of a first-class Forever stamp by 5 cents, from 73 cents to 78 cents, on July 13.

A first-class stamp covers the cost to mail a 1-ounce letter; the cost of an additional ounce rose from 28 cents to 29 cents.

If you’re not familiar with the Forever stamp, it’s what the name says — it can be used forever, regardless of future postage increases.

Forever stamps, introduced in 2007, are always equivalent to the current price of a firstclass stamp. Since 2011, virtually all first-class stamps sold are Forever stamps.

A Forever stamp sends a 1-ounce letter to any U.S. address. You don’t have to add additional postage. In fact, you can use an original 41-cent Forever stamp you bought 18 years ago to mail a first-class letter today without additional postage.

You can even use Forever stamps for outbound international letters, but you’ll have to include additional stamps to get to the correct amount of international postage.

For international letters, a Forever stamp has the value of the price of a first-class stamp on the day it is used.

In addition, many of the post office’s smorgasbord of services became more expensive.

Metered letters now cost 74 cents, up from 69 cents. Domestic postcard prices also went up, rising to 62 cents from 56 cents, while international postcards increased from $1.65 to $1.70. You’ll pay a nickel extra for outbound international letters: They now cost $1.70, up from $1.65.

In 1863, it cost 6 cents to send a 1-ounce letter, according to a USPS historian, and just 10 cents as recent as about 50 years ago.

The original U.S. Post Office Department, established in 1792 as part of the federal government, was reorganized in 1970 as the U.S. Postal Service, a separate agency, and generally receives no taxpayer money for operating expenses.