Sara Noel had this tip from a reader in her Frugal Village newspaper column Sunday:

STAMP PRICES: I’ve almost always picked up my stamps at the service desk of the grocery store because it’s so much faster than waiting in the long line at my post office. The last time I asked for a book, I noticed it looked a little different but didn’t really look at it closely. After I got home, I realized the book was a small envelope with 12 stamps inside. And they didn’t cost 42 cents each. I was surprised and annoyed to discover that I’d been charged 53 cents per stamp because of a new added surcharge. So be more careful than I was and buy your stamps somewhere that doesn’t charge you for the convenience. — Constance, New Jersey

I had to talk my husband out of buying stamps at the ATM machine at the bank when I realized those purchases resulted in a service fee.

“But I don’t have time to get to the post office,” he said.

Well, if you live in Monroe, Mich., I have a tip for you:

The downtown Monroe post office lobby has a stamp and postage vending machine that takes credit and debit bank cards — and will also calculate and print off postage for most packages. The lobby is open 24 hours a day, whether or not the clerk windows are open.

That means you don’t have to get a horrible traffic jam in the post office parking lot during your lunch break or in the late afternoon to take care of most post office errands. Save the business-day trips for when you really do need a clerk to handle the transaction.

I deliberately schedule my post office errands during non-business hours, such as on my way to work. You’d be surprised how fast you can buy a book of stamps and get some envelopes in the mail when no vehicles are blocking the exit lanes trying to turn onto West Front St.