One of the biggest changes to the postal system in recent years has been the introduction of the new pricing scale for letters, depending on their dimensions as well as their weight. The changes have resulted in mass confusion however if you understand the system well, you can ensure that you always pay the minimum charges possible.

Some of the things you may want to consider are:

- If you have multiple items to send, check whether sending them separately is cheaper than sending them in one parcel.
Put two books in an A4 envelope and you will be charged £2.20. Send each book individually in a smaller envelope will cost you 90p each – that’s an overall saving of 40p. It’s only a small saving however if you post many things each year, the savings will soon mount up. This scheme is a little crazy – at a time when Royal Mail are facing competition from other mail firms, it is surprising that they have introduced a scheme where they have to do twice the amount of work for a smaller amount of money!

- Fold A4 letters in half as this generally saves 25% on the price.
If you put an A4 letter in an A4 envelope, you will be charged 44p as it is a ‘large letter’. Fold the A4 letter in half and put it in an A5 envelope and it is classed as a standard letter therefore you will only be charged 32p! If you don’t have small envelopes, just fold the envelope in half and you should still be charged the standard letter price.

- Send everything in the smallest possible envelope you can find to save money.
If you need to send 3 CDs, it will cost you 44p in an A5 envelope. If you place them in a larger envelope, you will be charged up to £1 more to send them. If you send them in three separate, small envelopes, you will be charged 32p per envelope – 96p in total.

So it pays to think carefully about how you intend to send your letters as you can save lots of money by a little forward planning.

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