The price of a stamp is going up today as the amount it costs to post a letter becomes the latest item households and businesses are now paying more for from this month.

A first class stamp is increasing by 10p to 95p, says Royal Mail, which explains it is raising prices to ensure its 'one-price-goes-anywhere' service can remain sustainable.

But the rising cost to post a letter or birthday card is joining a long list of goods and services which people are now paying more for, with this month being dubbed 'awful April' because of the sheer number of price increases people are having to absorb in a huge cost of living squeeze that is seeing inflation rocket.

Energy bills, a rise in National Insurance contributions, petrol and diesel, food, heating oil, council tax and mobile phone contracts are among the items with rising price tags, placing a huge pressure on household budgets.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said the company appreciated many firms and homes were finding the current economic climate very difficult.

He explained: "We understand that many companies and households are finding it hard in the current economic environment, and we will always keep our prices as affordable as possible.

"Whilst the number of letters our postmen and women deliver has declined from around 20 billion a year to around seven billion since 2004/5, the number of addresses they have to deliver to has grown by around 3.5 million in the same period.

"We need to carefully balance our pricing against declining letter volumes and increasing costs of delivering to a growing number of addresses six days a week. As customer needs change and we see a greater shift from letters to parcels, it is vital that the universal service adapts to stay relevant and sustainable.

"These price changes are necessary to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service for future generations."

Alongside the 12% increase in the price of a first class stamp the cost of a second class stamp will also increase today by 2p to 68p.

Royal Mail also recently announced plans to begin adding barcodes to all its regular ‘everyday’ stamps. Non-barcoded stamps are going to be steadily phased out but will remain valid until January 31, 2023.

Alternatively there is also a swap-out scheme, launched in March, in which people can exchange their old-style stamps for new ones displaying the up-to-date barcodes.