Even though we live in a digital world and I use apps galore, there’s something about seeing your notes, schedules, and goals in front of you in real life. If your current goal is to manage your finances better, I’ll give you the skinny on the best budget planners available right now.
Planners make it easy for people to get motivated and get their lives and finances in order. A budget planner, in particular, will make budgeting a less complicated task.
It’s too easy in our current financial system to not easily monitor your finances. You can make online purchases in only a few clicks with a credit card that doesn’t represent an actual cash balance, but instead borrowed funds.
You need to formulate a plan. There are only two steps that you can take – increase income or lower expenses. You can use a budget planner as a brain dump to collect your ideas and create a method.
Find a system that works and take logical steps towards financial freedom. With years of using budget planners, you can become the boss of your money.
A budget planner can make serious changes in your life if you commit to it completely. I have high hopes for you when it comes to organizing your financial life. All you need is determination and one of the following best budget planners.
What makes an excellent budget planner?
I’ve established that a budget planner can be your key to financial freedom. However, if you look online, there are thousands of budget planners out there. I can say with great confidence that most of them are not up to my standards.
Since you’re looking for the best budget planner around, I took the liberty of creating a list of qualities that a budget planner should have. If a budget planner meets the following criteria, then it should stand out from the rest.
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Qualities to Look For in Your First Budget Planner
1. Undated
It’s already the middle of the year, but it’s not too late to start a budget planner if it is not already with dates. An undated planner will allow you to begin any time. Missing a couple of months won’t be a problem if you get to put in all the dates yourself.
2. Highly reviewed
I rarely ever make purchases based on a company’s marketing alone. I always check reviews because I know other consumers will rate products honestly. The best budget planners out there will have 4-5 star ratings.
It’s always best to check feedback from regular folks who have already tried out the said planner.
3. Stylish
I don’t know about you, but I’m more motivated to use something if it has a great design. If you’re going to spend money on a budget planner, it might as well be one that you’ll love to use every day. Stylish doesn’t always equal expensive anyway.
4. Has worksheets and trackers
One of the things I always look for in budget planners are headings, prompts, and spaces to fill out. Of course, there should be enough space to keep track of your finances, with different prompts for savings, debts, and notes.
5. Easy to use
I want my budget planner to be straightforward. Overly complicated planners become a chore to fill out sooner than later. The whole point of organizing your finances is to do away with complications.
6. Comes with stickers
This is a bonus feature that might not be important to you. Stickers can help you mark important dates and make your planner look more organized and cohesive.
If your chosen planner doesn’t come with stickers and you want some, you can always go get some. Any stickers will do.
Now that you know the criteria I used to narrow down my choices for the best budget planners let’s get to the reviews. I’m sure you’re eager to learn about each one’s pros and cons. I hope you set your heat on one when you’re done reading this post.
The 7 Best Budget Planners To Help You With Your Finances
1. The Erin Condren Budget Planner Book
Planner friends know who Erin Condren is because her name is pretty much synonymous with planners. Designer Erin Condren creates all kinds of planners for moms, students, budgeters; you name it.
I’m always happy to have her designer budget planner organizer book on my desk. The planner has 12 months of planning resources, a perfect budget companion for an entire year. There are goal tracking charts, weekly and monthly spending spreads, and debt tracking pages for you to fill out.
It also comes with one sheet of cute stickers and a built-in pocket for loose papers like receipts and sticky notes.
This planner is on the smaller side at 8.25 x 5.75 x 0.25 inches and 5.4 oz. I like that I have a good hold on it, and it easily fits in my bag if I’m on the go.
The papers inside are very durable, and my pen just glides over the pages. The cover looks sleek and eye-catching, with a variety of colors and patterns to suit everyone’s tastes. I’m not surprised at all that Erin’s Budget Planner has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon.
PROS
- Perfect for beginners
- It comes with one sticker sheet
- It comes with a pocket for loose papers
- Includes trackers and monthly spreads
- Lightweight and portable
- High-quality pages
- It comes in different patterns and colors
CONS
- Could use a little more space for monthly transactions and debts
- It doesn’t come with spaces for expected and actual costs
- It may be too simple for expert budgeters
2. The Clever Fox Budget Planner
Do you remember my criteria above? The Clever Fox Budget Planner knocks all of the requirements out of the park. This stylish planner has a 4.6-star rating on Amazon. Why? It’s easy to use, and it’s a great size (A5). It also comes with 86 fun and colorful budget-themed stickers.
Personal finance experts lent their expertise to come up with this amazing planner. It has pretty much everything you need to make budgeting a breeze.
The Clever Fox Budget Planner comes with 12 months of undated financial planning sheets. Do you want to start budgeting in August? No problem. This planner also has dedicated pages for financial tracking, goal setting, and monthly reviewing.
You can also keep your receipts and bills in the many pockets that come with this planner. Best of all, you get a quick start user manual to know how to utilize this planner optimally.
I love the Clever Fox Budget Planner because it keeps me organized. I’m able to use my spending money wisely and save some for a rainy day every month. You can keep track of your cash flow and debt payments all in one book.
With this planner, you can set short and long-term financial goals and break your less ideal spending habits.
PROS
- Updated pages
- It comes with 86 cool stickers
- Has worksheets and trackers
- It comes in different colors and patterns
- It comes with pockets for extra organization
- Great for beginners and experts
- Great size and lightweight
CONS
- Could use a little more space for income and debt
- It might be problematic if you have multiple sources of income and loans
3. The Clever Fox Budget Book
This budget planner is also made by Clever Fox and has a couple of differences from the one I listed above.
The Clever Fox Budget Book is an all-in-one financial planner, expense tracker, and organizer. It essentially has all the features of the Clever Fox Budget Planner but in a more portable size. Some folks might not want to carry around an A5 notebook around, so this is the solution.
Of course, the layout of this budget book differs slightly from the larger version. Surprisingly, this book has a few extra tracker pages. The budget categories are also not prefilled, perfect for those who want that additional customization.
I highly recommend this book, and it looks like other people do too! It has a 4.7-star rating on Amazon, and it’s easy to see why.
PROS
- Undated
- Various colors and patterns to choose from
- It comes with worksheets and trackers
- It comes with a sheet of 86 stickers
- Compact and easy to carry
- Customizable budget categories
- Ideal for novices and experts alike
CONS
- It doesn’t have a “month at a glance” calendar
- Might be lacking heft for some
4. The Go Girl Budget Planner
You already know the Go Girl Budget Planner has 12 months of undated budgeting sheets. You don’t have to postpone your budgeting plans for the beginning of the year. The Go Girl Budget Planner also looks sleek and comes with a variety of beautiful covers to choose from.
I love this planner’s pay layout, full of spaces to write down your financial goals and plans. You can also keep track of your income, savings, and debts. There are blank dotted pages for personal notes and some budget categories that you might want to include.
It also comes with a holiday budgeting template so you can plan your next vacation wisely. This planner has a quick start user manual to fill you in on how to use it properly. And it comes with stickers to motivate you to stick to your budget.
At the end of each month, this planner also lets you calculate and include a summary of your income, expenses, and the difference. It’s beneficial for me to see my budgeted expenses and the actual amount I spend during the month.
The Go Girl Budget Planner is designed in such a way that you get to summarize each month and reflect on it. There are blank pages where you can write notes about how each month went down financially. You can also write down strategies on how to improve in the subsequent months.
This planner is smaller than your standard A5 planner at 5.3 x 7.7 x 0.6 inches and 8 oz. It’s easy to slip it into your handbag or use it around the house. It has an elastic band to keep it shut and an accordion pocket to keep your receipts, and a pen holder.
Best of all, the Go Girl Budget Planner is guaranteed to work as long as you stay committed to filling it. So many have left great reiews on Amazon. It has a 4.6-star rating for a good reason!
PROS
- Updated pages
- Beautiful color covers to choose from
- Compact and lightweight
- Accordion pocket
- Spaces for summarization and reflection
CONS
- It might be too small for some
5. The Legend Budget Planner
The Legend Budget Planner leaves little to be desired. It has A5 size pages containing 12 months of undated worksheets and trackers. This planner also has space provided for writing down your monthly financial goals and due dates in its monthly calendars.
The Legend Budget Planner focuses on each month, allowing you to create monthly spending plans with different expense categories. You can also track your inward and outward cash flow and the money that goes into your savings.
Because of this planner’s month-by-month focus, you can review your progress at the end of each one to see what areas in your financial plan need improving.
I also love that this planner is designed not just to make a financial plan for one year but for the rest of your life. It has dedicated pages for writing down all your lifelong financial goals and what you want to achieve by what age. You need to visualize your goals before you can even think about turning them into reality.
This planner goes as far as categorizing these goals into assets, career, active, and passive incomes. You even get Christmas budgeting spaces for financially preparing for your favorite holiday. There are a few extra dotted pages at the back for more notes that you want to take.
Lastly, the Legend Budget Planner comes with an elastic band for secure closure, an accordion pocket for loose paper, a pen loop, a ribbon marker, a quick user manual, and a sheet of stickers.
This fabulous planner has a 4.7-star rating on Amazon. If you buy it and are not satisfied with its features, you can get your money back after you purchase it.
PROS
- Updated pages
- Customizable budget categories
- It comes with worksheets and trackers
- It comes with 109 stickers
- Many covers to choose from
- Has accordion pocket and pen loop
- Simple and lightweight
CONS
- Could have more spaces for debt tracking
6. The Budgetizer Budget Planner Bill Organizer Book
This organizer is the perfect example of the ideal budget planner. It has “month at a glance” calendars and bill organizers. You can keep track of your expenses, income, savings, payments, bank statements, taxes, and more.
This planner has labels for each month, but it’s up to you to fill them out. Its pages are undated, so like with the rest of the planners on this list, you can start budgeting any time.
This organizer comes with a whopping 12 pockets for bills, receipts, and any other important loose papers. It is compact at 8.25 x 6.5 x 1 inches and 1.14 pounds. You can secure it shut with its elastic band and remember pages with its ribbon marker.
The Budgetizer Budget Planner is better than most planners on the market, but it still has a few negative reviews.
PROS
- Updated pages
- Has worksheets and trackers
- Has 12 envelopes for loose paper storage
- It comes with three cash envelopes
CONS
- Some planners were apparently sent without envelopes
- Some complaints about misprints
7. The Limitless Mindset Budget Planner
Unlike most of the budget planners listed above, this one has a spiral spine for the pages to lay flat. You get 12 color-coded months of undated budgeting sheets that come with expenses, income, and savings trackers.
The Limitless Mindset Budget Planner is the only planner on this list that comes with a custom pen and stylus! It also includes three cash envelopes and plenty of stickers.
You get the standard inner pocket, elastic loop, and pen loop to hold your pen securely. You also get three color options: light purple, mint green, and rose gold. The standard size is 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches and 12 oz.
If by some chance, the Limitless Mindset Budget Planner didn’t work for you despite your best efforts, the Limitless Mindset Store will give your money back.
PROS
- Updated pages
- Has worksheets and trackers
- It comes with three cash envelopes
- It comes with a custom pen
- Customizable budget categories
- It has an inner pocket
- Spiral spine for ease of use
- Includes 15 stickers
CONS
- The pages don’t feel thick and premium.
Is it practical to buy a budget planner to save money?
In this case, you’re going to have to spend money to save money. I know we’re supposed to be in the “save money” mindset, but buying a budget planner will be good for your financial future. Think of it as a much-needed investment.
With a budget planner, you can spend money with a plan set in place. This is to avoid spending thoughtlessly and then racking your brain at the end of every month. Did you know that 65% of Americans have no idea how much money they spent last month? That’s probably the reason why so many of us are struggling financially.
“How did I end up with no spending money this month?”
“I can’t wait for my next paycheck to pay last month’s bills!”
“I guess I’ll have to use my credit card again.”
If these statements sound familiar to you, it’s probably a good idea to invest in one of the planners I listed above. You need to take control of your finances and get your life back with the proper tool.
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Final Thoughts
Seeing your plans and assets laid out in front of you will truly help you manage your finances better. At a glance, you’ll know what you have, what you’re owed, what you owe, what you need, and what you want.
Any of the budget planners I listed above will help you stay focused, motivated, and accountable. Imagine never having to waste money or miss payments again; that’s the kind of life you can expect with a budget planner.
You can expect to take yourself out of financial ruin by never making goals. So get a planner, make goals, and strategize. Now that you know the best budget planners on the market, which one are you excited to try out?
