The beginning of a new year is usually a time of focus, planning, and preparation. People are making resolutions and excitedly mapping out the year that lies ahead. I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I feel like if you want to change something or address an issue in your life you should just do it. There’s no special power in waiting a few days, weeks, or months to start over on January 1st. (I am, however, all for waiting until the next Monday to start anything. Its the only acceptable day for new beginnings. Lol.)

As we arrive at the end of January, several people have expressed the desire to start over again in February. Luckily for you procrastinators, it’s never too late to start planning a better life. Resolutions may not be my thing, but planning makes my heart sing in a special kind of way.

 

Planner Addict

Let me start by saying this blog is a judgment-free zone for me.

I am currently using five planners to track, organize, and plan my life.  (Remember, no judging.) Am I addicted to planning? Probably. Does knowing that mean I’m going to cut back on the planners next year? Absolutely not!

I know what you’re thinking, what could I possibly need that many planners for? Short answer: I want them.

Long answer: I have a Type A personality and a lack of planning will send me into a TOTAL meltdown. The only thing that makes me more anxious than having no plan, is things not going according to the plan I do have.  Each of my planners serves a different purpose, so they are all necessary.  Plus, the more planners you have the more planners you get to decorate.

 

My Top 3 Planner Picks

The Happy Planner

 

 

Of the five planners I use daily, three of them are Happy Planners.

I have a separate Happy Planner to track my domestic duties, finances, and health.  The biggest pro to using a Happy Planner is that you can reuse them forever. They have a plethora of blank, undated planner fillers, rings, covers, and dividers. You can literally reconfigure them forever for a very low price. I ordered the budget tracker forms and threw them between my old planner cover and rings and voila, a whole new financial planner. (You can order the budget tracker forms I use here or by clicking the picture.)

 

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There is truly a  Happy Planner to meet ANY of your planning needs. They are cost effective and come in a variety of styles, layouts, and sizes. I buy my Happy Planners and majority of its accessories from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. The biggest upside to that is you can always catch a good sale or use a 40% off coupon.

 

The only con I would give Happy Planner is that sometimes it is hard to find the one you want. My sister has been trying to find The 2019 Farmhouse planner for months now. If you see one you like in-store just buy it because you may not find it again.

If you’re a mama on a budget The Happy Planner is definitely the planner I would recommend for you.

 

The Erin Condren LifePlanner

 

I use my Erin Condren LifePlanner for business. This is the planner I track my blog posts, reviews due, social media activity, writing projects, and things of that nature in. My LifePlanner is slightly smaller than the Classic Happy Planner which makes it perfect for tracking this one area of my life. Erin Condren planners also come in a wide variety of layouts and styles.

 

 

The biggest con of using Erin Condren LifePlanners is that they lack the ability to be reused/refilled. I paid more money for my Erin Condren planner than I did for any other planner on my top three list. I do, however,  feel like the LifePlanners are well worth the price. They come beautifully packaged and filled with free goodies. The planner itself even has extra stickers and coloring pages in the back as well. A pretty box filled with free extras and coupons… let’s just say you had me at hello.

 

 

My favorite thing about my Erin Condren was the customization options. I was able to choose my layout and organize the pictures of my choice exactly how I wanted them for my cover. The good news is even though the planners are not refillable ( they are spiral bound), I can still use my personalized cover with my next LifePlanner.

 

The momAgenda

 

 

I use my momAgenda to organize my life as a homeschool mom. The momAgenda is perfectly sectioned for me to write out what I plan to accomplish, what I need to focus on concerning my kids, and any activities we are participating in. This agenda is ridiculously flexible. I can’t even calculate all the different ways you could configure it. Price-wise, it falls in between The Happy Planner and The Erin Condren LifePlanner.  If you hate waiting to receive items you order online, this is the planner for you. I was extremely impressed by how quickly my order came in.

The momAgenda is so versatile that you can easily track up to four kids with it. I would definitely recommend it to any mother with multiples involved in different activities. The good news is if you don’t have kids or if you’re just looking to track several areas of your life/day in one place you can always order the myAgenda. It has the same format as the momAgenda without the mom-specific details.

 

 

Something For Everyone

It doesn’t matter if you are new to planning or an old addict like me, one of these planners will work for you. Between the three, you are guaranteed to find one that fits your budget, personality, and style. Personally, I enjoy decorating my planner but it is not a requirement. You could use any one of these planners exactly as they come and still have a gorgeous, functional planner layout. Do you have a favorite planner? Let me know in the comments section.

Come back next week and checkout Planner Addict pt 2 to find out about my favorite sticker shops!