6 Fancy Planners to Consider for 2016: From $60 to $6

Hi friends! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas. We have been celebrating all week, and I’m finally starting to force myself to get back to “real life” now! 🙂 Speaking of which, I’m totally in planning mode over here. I love love love the start of the new year – resolutions, goals, I’m a sucker for it all!! If you’re anything like me (and I have feeling many of you are ;)), one of your favorite things about a new year is picking out a new planner to use, so today I’m sharing 6 fancy planners I have personal experience with at all different price points (from $60 – $6). If you haven’t already, I hope this will help you find your 2016 planner!

Emily Ley Simplified Planner

$58.00 for Daily Edition / $40.00 for Weekly Edition (Regular price $58 for 17 month)

*Free Shipping with code HOORAY2016 until 11:59PM on 12/31*

I’ve written about this planner on my blog many times. It is the planner that I have used for the last several years, and I love it! (I used the Daily in 2014, Weekly in 2015, and am switching back to the Daily for 2016.) I’m pretty much a loyal Emily Ley fan across the board. Her style is elegantly simple, colorful, and practical. She’s a mom of three (twins about Nora’s age!!), and I love that her planner is designed for the busy momma who wants to keep her priorities in line and make time for what matters. This has just what I want (monthly calendars, days broken into hours, space for your daily to do list, meal planning, and notes) and isn’t overwhelming. Plus, the cover designs are beautiful (I have the Happy Stripe which is currently sold out, but I love all three designs), and durable (I carry it in my school bag all the time). I use my planner with her Home Base Binder and the Simplified Planner app. It’s the whole package, and I whole-heartedly recommend it – even at the high(er) price point. (P.S. The links in this post and on the sidebar are affiliate links. I get a tiny commission if you buy one of these planners from my links, but I have purchased all of mine at full price and would recommend them for free any day!)

Plum Paper Planner

$35 for Family Planner / $31 for Regular (LOTS of different options & totally customizable)

I used this planner before Emily Ley’s and wrote a full review here. It’s unlike any other planner I’ve found because it can be completely customized to fit your life. You choose everything – from the cover design to what pages are included (they have special add-ons for fitness, blogging, budgeting, meal planning, wedding planning, babies, etc.) to what specifically, is on each page – about this planner, so it is guaranteed to be exactly what you need. Designing it is super fun, shipping is fast, and just this year they released inter-changeable covers, so you can spice it up whenever you need a change! Plum also makes awesome-looking Teacher Planners – something I’m definitely considering trying out in 2016. 🙂 (Again, for more about this planner, check out this post.)

Kate Spade Day Agenda

$30 for Large 17 month / $25 for Medium 17 month (Regular price $36/$30)

*Also available at Nordstrom, Amazon, etc. Prices vary. Free shipping on most sites!*

I’ve actually never used this, but I had to include it because it’s the planner my sister swears by. Here’s what she said about it: “It is 17 months, and I never got tired of it or wanted to buy something to replace it – mainly because it’s cute and set up really well. I love that the weekly pages aren’t broken up into hours because that feels like overkill to me, and there is lots of space on each of the pages to write plenty without running out of room – each day has eight lines and nothing is crammed together. There are about 20 pages of ‘notes’ which is nice and a section in the front called ‘celebration’ pages with space to write down all major events, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. for each month. I also like the two pockets in the front which can be used to store receipts, stamps, etc. My only ‘con’ is that the rings that bind the book are a little small, so the pages can get hard to turn once you are about halfway through, but it isn’t a big deal.” My sister has great taste (and she’s pretty darn picky), so I fully trust her recommendation. Plus, I’m kind-of obsessed with these cover designs – so classy and Kate Spadeish. 😉

Passion Planner

$30 for Classic (on Backorder until Feb.) / $25 for Compact

This is a favorite among the grad school students in my program, and I ordered it on a whim to try out earlier this fall. It definitely isn’t as pretty or “fancy” as the others (and, to be honest, I ultimately cared about that too much), but it is very reasonably priced and really detailed for people that like to schedule their time to the extreme. It has a big section at the beginning for planning and goal setting, then monthly check-ins throughout and lots of extra lined and graph pages in the back for note-taking etc. I really do like that the planner lays flat so you can look at your whole week at a glance, and each individual day is broken down into 30 minute increments from 11AM – 6PM. There are also motivational quotes and space to record “good things that happened” on each weekly spread, as well as To Do lists separated into both work and personal life, plus a weekly notes area. This planner is really well thought out and includes a lot of the features that I love from Emily Ley in a simpler (more guy-friendly too) style. This would be a great option for someone who doesn’t want a lot of decorative features but appreciates details. It also comes in a gold or twilight blue style and can be purchased undated if you want to start using it later in the year.

MayDesigns Agenda

$23.00 with Monogram / $18.00 without – 30% off with code AGENDA-2016

This is probably the most basic of all the planners I’ve used, but it really is perfect if you want something you can throw in your purse and meet all your general planner needs. It is 5×7 and soft-bound (about the size of a Moleskin journal), so it isn’t super durable, but it is very light weight and easy to carry around. My favorite thing about May Designs is that they have TONS of awesome cover options to choose from, and they can all be personalized with your name, monogram, etc. The sky’s the limit. 😉 There are also several different options for how the inside is formatted. For example, if you don’t like the standard layout (shown above), you can do a daily spread with a full graph page (great if you’re into bullet journaling) and then a large column for “To Do”, “Calls/Emails,” and “Tomorrow.” Basically, you can make this fit your needs pretty easily whatever they might be. If you are just starting to use a paper planner or really want something small, this is a great option.

Sugar Paper Planner

Sold at Target – prices range from $12.99 – $5.99

Sold at Target for $12 – $6, these are your best bet if you want a planner TODAY. I love that Sugar Paper allows you all the style and functionality of some of the more expensive planners at a very good price! I have used these in the past and am always tempted to switch back to it when I see it in stores because they are just so darn cute (and cheap). They really have everything you need in a planner – monthly calendar spreads and space to fill in specific tasks and obligations for each day one week at a time – in a spiral-bound notebook (lots of sizes available). They aren’t super durable, but they are light-weight and easy to throw in a large purse. *Warning though, they are hard to find after the first year, so buy one now if you’re interested!

And there you have it… Have you already bought a planner for this year? Do you use any of these? Are you loyal to a different brand I’d love to hear your thoughts!

E