Why a cheap planner will be the best planner for you in 2021?
By: Edith Sam
Tags: Writing, New Year Resolution, Budget, Journal, Planning

Stretch your dollar with a “cheap” planner

Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash

Planner, the one thing you need to step into 2021 with a concrete plan. Shopping for a good planner in December is my yearly ritual. My type of self-healing ceremony to prepare me for the brand new year.

A good planner in your hand will make you feel more grounded. There is a recent boost of planning system going around in the journaling community. Planning system such as bullet journaling has the most resounding support from the journaling community. I have tried but failed terribly. My preferred planning is to dive into my daily task of the day. Simple and no-nonsense journal system.

Why you should use a paper daily planner?

It’s easier to remember writing it down to typing it into your phone app.

It feels more official, like sealing up an envelope with wax.

It freed up the creative side of your brain.

It allows you to make a plan with the Universe.

Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the battles of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives us mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something that happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time. Richard Walker in Twenty-Four Hours A Day

What are the current best planners out in the market right now?

Leuchtturm1917 Weekly Planner + Notebook Medium (A5) Moleskine Classic 12 Month 2021 Weekly Planner Kokuyo Jibun Techo 2021 Diary Hobonichi Techo Original Book

I would not go into deep comparison for all the planners, which I have mentioned. Their average price is around $30 and above. The price range is great if you are someone who will plan daily. Go ahead and check out their reviews on Youtube. However, for people like me, it’s not feasible for me to crack open a brand new planner without using it every day.

Thus, I begin a search journey for a “cheap” planner, which I can use guilt-free for next year.

Welcome, Kinbor Planner

Image from Aliexpress

It’s a Hobonichi Techo lookalike 2021 planner. Kinbor planner is manufacture in China. It holds 224 pages of 52 grams Tomoegawa papers, which originates from Japan. If you are like me who like to carry a lighter bag for your daily commute, you can get the A6 planner. Currently, the price is at $13.62 on Aliexpress. Yes, it’s “cheap” and looks great to me.

It has almost all the information that a Hobonichi has. The only difference is that a certain part of the pages will be in Chinese instead in the Japanese language. That does not bother me at all, since I am buying it to write instead of reading.

What interesting tidbits does this cheap planner have inside?

Image from Aliexpress

Below is the translated information based on the information found on the image.

Calendar Monthly Page Monthly Project Planning page Annual Review Daily Project Page Grid Page (My Favorite Page) Time Table Annual Goal 21 Days Schedule Page (No idea, I will review it next time) Ideas Collection Page 365 days Saving Plan Page Gift Page Mini Encyclopedia China Map World Map Recommended reading list 24 Solar Terms Page

It’s quite comprehensive for a “cheap” Planner. I have already ordered it from Aliexpress and it’s currently on the way to my hands.

What about you? Do you have any cheap planner that you can share with me?