Erin Condren LifePlanner Review – 4 Months In

Back in late 2014 I decided it was time for a change. Google calendar wasn’t keeping me up to speed on everything I need to write down and there were things in life that were just getting lost. I tried out a simple planner for 2015 to see if it would change my life and it did. Things got more organized, appointments didn’t get missed and I felt a lot more in control of what was going on every day. By the end of 2015 I realized I need a slightly more detailed planner… something a little bigger, something with a few more pages and something that could take my organization to the next step. A few friends mentioned the Erin Condren LifePlanner so I decided to give it a try.

When I first got my planner, I got everything setup and organized for 2016. The Erin Condren LifePlanner I had ordered was the horizontal version. I entered all of the birthdays and started filling in key dates that I knew we already had booked. The other night I got into a back and forth comment discussion with a friend about my thoughts on it being worth the price tag of $45. I’ve been using it daily for the last four months and have to say I really do think it is. So with that being said, here are my thoughts.

Erin Condren LifePlanner Pros

Two Types of Layouts

My biggest problem with the old planner I had is that it didn’t have the entire month anywhere that I could fill out any dates. For the most part I don’t use this but it is really nice at the start of the month to look and see if there are any birthdays or big events that I need to be aware of coming up during the month.

Enough Space To Write

While this does go along with one of my cons… I love the extensive amount of space I have to fill in information for each day. Some days it’s not a big deal and I barely even fill up one line, but there are days where I fill up the entire section.

Monthly Tabs

At first I thought this might be a little bit of overkill, each month is tabbed out on the side. As my summer schedule has started to fill up, having the months on the side is so convenient. It makes it easy to flip back and forth and there is no question about where you are in the calendar.

Stickers Built In

The planner comes with a number of stickers that are attached in the back but there are samples of other stickers you can order from their website as well. They are not at all a need but they are fun to call out certain things that you need to remember… like recycling day.

Etsy Stickers

Okay, this isn’t exactly something that comes WITH the planner but I recently discovered all of the stickers you can buy on Etsy that fit within your planner. I picked up a few packs last week and they are a lot of fun. There is no need to buy them if you just want a planner but if you feel like adding even more color, keep an eye out on Etsy.

Erin Condren LifePlanner Cons

Size

I won’t lie, when I first saw how big the planner was, I was overwhelmed. It is a little bit bigger than I expected (think book) BUT that is the trade off that came with having more room to write. The planner fits comfortably in my work bag, not so much my purse. I’m okay with not having it

Prices of Add-On Shipping

While the price of the actual Erin Condren LifePlanner did not scare me away and in my opinion is 100% worth it, the price of the add-ons was another story. Last week I decided I needed a few more of the sticker packs. I went to go order some and wasn’t really too worried about the $4.99 price tag on them. Stickers are expensive, these were fairly detailed and exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately the shipping for them was $9.99. I was immediately turned away by that and decided to hold out for another day when I was ordering more than just a $4.99 pack of stickers.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade in my decision to order the Erin Condren LifePlanner. I have already decided to stick with it for 2017 and have been incredibly happy with how easy it is to use this year. If you are questioning the price of the planner, let me tell you IT IS WORTH IT!

One of the nice things about the Erin Condren LifePlanner right now is that they are discounted if you order a 2016 one. Depending on the cover they start at $25 which is a pretty big discount compared to what they cost as you get closer to the new year. An email that came out last week said 2017 information should be out soon so if you want to wait until next year, sign up for their email list!

What planner is your favorite? Do you go sticker crazy on Etsy?