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An Honest Review of the Best Budget Planner Books and Budget Notebooks for Organizing your Finances
I don’t know about you but I totally geek out over planners, printables, stickers and stationery on the whole. My husband often jokes about how long I take to browse the stationery aisle. I just can’t help it! 
There’s something about planners that just motivates you to get your life in order. And when it comes to budget planner books and binders, it’s no different!
Trust me, if you want to get your finances organized, check out these best budget planners to make budgeting fun and easy!
I remember ugly crying years ago every single time our income hit the bank, and we realized that it wasn’t enough to cover all our expenses.
Saying we lived paycheck to paycheck is an understatement. We literally could not afford to cover our basic essentials and needed to use our credit card to survive every month.
The next month, we’d pay off the minimum on the card, and then use the card to live again for the rest of the month.
It’s a frustrating and hopeless place to be. But then one day, I decided that enough is enough. I got myself a budget planner (combined it with some pretty printables) and made a commitment to become the boss of my money.
I needed a plan to move forward. I needed to lower our expenses and increase our income. My budget planner helped me with my brain dump and then helped me organize my thoughts and plans into logical, realistic steps towards financial freedom.
Now, years later, it has helped me become the boss of my money (instead of my money being the boss of me). I no longer need to ugly cry at the end of the month and we have paid off debt, saved money and live a life where money is not a struggle.
A budget planner notebook is seriously a life changer. (If you can commit to using it the right way!)
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What is the best Budget Planner?
So yes budget planners are awesome and great at helping you save money. But there are hundreds of budget planners on the market and honestly, not all of them are top class.
If you want to get the best budget notebook, there are certain key features that you should look for. These are the features that make a budget planner book stand out from the rest.
Here are some of the features that I look for when choosing my budget notebooks over the years:
Undated – Having an undated planner means that you can start anytime. If you decide to start budgeting in the middle of June, that’s totally fine. You wouldn’t be wasting all the pages from January to May. You know?
Great Reviews – The best budget planners and budget notebooks have 4-5 star ratings. It’s good to check feedback from other real people who ordered and used the product.
Stylish – I am way more motivated to use a budget planner if it looks pretty and is stylish. If I’m spending money to buy a planner, it should be one that I love to pick up each day!
Worksheets & Trackers – The best budget planner books have organized headings and prompts, making budgeting simple and easy. There should be space to do your monthly budget, track your expenses, savings, debt and review your spending.
User-friendly – Great budget notebooks should be well organized and easy to use.
Includes stickers – This one is a bonus. If a budget planner includes all of the above PLUS stickers, that’s a win in my book. Stickers seal the deal for me! (lol) Like I said, I’m a total planner, printables and stickers girl. But don’t worry, if this is not included, you can always head over to your nearest Dollar Tree and grab some pretty (but cheap!) stickers!
Now, let’s get straight to the reviews. I’ve included details on all of my top picks, pros and cons for each and video reviews so you can see exactly what you’re getting.
Don’t miss the comparison table included below which highlights and compares the key features and shortcomings of each so that you can make the most informed decision before you give up your hard earned money. You’re welcome! ?
7 Best Budget Planner Books to Take Control of your Finances
1. Clever Fox Budget Planner
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Clever Fox Budget Planner
The Clever Fox Budget Planner ticks off ALL the boxes mentioned above. It is stylish, user-friendly, a great size (A5), includes worksheets and stickers (YAY!), has undated pages and has a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon!
The Clever Fox Budget Planner was thoughtfully designed by personal finance experts, so it includes everything that you’ll need to make budgeting simple and effective.
It includes 12 months of undated financial planning sheets, plus dedicated pages for goal setting, budgeting, financial tracking and monthly reviewing.
In addition to these, the Clever Fox Budget Planner includes pockets for receipts and bills, a quick start user manual and 86 colorful Budget-themed stickers to keep you accountable, organized and motivated to continue saving and paying off debt.
It will help you keep your money organized, and also help with spending wisely, with saving, budgeting, debt payments, bills, cash flow, expense tracking and more, all in one place!
Clever Fox Budget Planner
Pros
- Pages are undated
- Includes worksheets and trackers
- Includes 89 Budget-themed Stickers
- Variety of colors to choose from
- Includes pockets to keep bills and receipts
- Great for beginners
- Simple & Lightweight
Cons
- Has a limited number of spaces for debt, income etc. so if your have multiple sources of income and multiple loans, credit cards etc., it can become complicated to use
2. Erin Condren Budget Planner Book
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Erin Condren Budget Planner Book
The name ‘Erin Condren’ is synonymous with planners of all sorts. And a list of best planners (whether for moms, school, budgeting or just life in general) would not be complete without adding an Erin Condren planner in there.
So if you’re looking for the best budget planner books on the market, the Erin Condren Designer Petite Budget Planner Organizer Book is a must!
This budget planner includes 12 months of planning resources, goal tracking charts, weekly and monthly spending spreads, one sheet of stickers, debt tracking pages and a built in pocket for loose stickers and papers!
The planner itself is a good size (8.25 x 5.75 x 0.25 inches) and it’s not too heavy (5.4 oz). If you want a smaller and simpler planner, then this is the planner for you!
The pages are also durable and of good quality. It is also sleek and stylish, and there are a variety of pretty colors and patterns to choose from.
It really is no surprise that the Erin Condren Budget Planner Book also has a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon!
Erin Condren Budget Book
Pros
- Great for beginners
- Includes trackers & monthly spreads
- Includes one sticker sheet
- Pocket for loose stickers and papers
- Lightweight & durable
- Variety of patterns and colors to choose from
Cons
- More blank spaces needed for monthly transactions & debts
- Does not include spaces for expected cost vs actual cost
- May be too basic for some
3. Go Girl Budget Planner
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Go Girl Budget Planner
I love that the Go Girl Budget Planner has 12 months of undated budgeting sheets, allowing you to start at any time. It is stylish and comes in a variety of gorgeous colors to choose from.
The page layout is great, with spaces and pages to include your financial goals and plans, income and saving trackers, debt trackers, a holiday budgeting template, dotted pages for notes and ample blank spaces for you to add your own budget categories each month.
It also has a sticker sheet with 91 stickers and a quick start user manual.
At the end of the month, you can calculate and add a summary of your total income, expenses and the difference. It’s a huge plus that there is space to write in your budgeted expenses vs actual expenses, and then you can also write in the difference.
The Go Girl Budget Planner also includes pages to reflect on the past month and strategize how you would improve the next month.
It is compact (5.3 x 7.7 x 0.6 inches) and light (8 oz), and smaller than the standard A5 planner. This makes it simple to fit it in your handbag! The Go Girl Budget Planner has an elastic band to hold it together neatly, and also has an accordion pocket for bills and receipts, a pen holder and white no-bleed pages.
It has a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon and what makes this one of the best budget notebook buys is that it comes with a guarantee to work, otherwise you will get your money back with no questions asked!
Go Girl Budget Planner
Pros
- Beautiful Colors to choose from
- Compact & lightweight but also durable
- Undated pages
- Includes expenses, savings and debt trackers & worksheets
- Accordion pockets for bills & receipts
- Great for beginners
Cons
- May be too small for some
4. Clever Fox Budget Book
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Clever Fox Budget Book
So you may be a little bit confused right now and wondering why the same budget planner is being added to our list twice. But believe it or not, the Clever Fox Budget Book is not the same as the Clever Fox Budget Planner mentioned in #1 above. Both are made by Clever Fox but they have a few differences that are worth mentioning.
The layout of this budget book is slightly different from the larger planner. This one has extra tracker pages in the back and the budget categories are not prefilled as it is done in the other planner.
The Clever Fox Budget Book has a 4.7 out of 5 stars review on Amazon!
Clever Fox Budget Book
Pros
- Many pretty colors to choose from
- Undated
- Includes worksheets & trackers
- Includes sticker sheet (86 stickers)
- Compact & Lightweight
- Blank spaces for customizable budget categories
- Great for beginners
Cons
- No ‘month at a glance’ calendar
- May be too small for some
5. Legend Budget Planner
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Legend Budget Planner
The Legend Budget Planner also includes all the great features that makes a budget planner the best!
It is a great size (A5) and contains 12 months of undated budgeting pages. It provides space for you to write down your monthly financial goals, as well as bills and due dates for payments in the monthly calendar.
You can also make a monthly spending plan for each expense category (before the month has even started), track income, expenses and savings, and then review your progress at the end of the month (and analyse how you can improve).
This budget planner includes spreads to help you make not just a 1 year financial plan, but also a financial plan for your life. It has specific spaces to write down all your financial goals that you want to achieve and by what age you want to achieve them.
It allows you to sort these goals by categories such as assets, career, active and passive income. It also includes pages for Christmas budgeting and has extra dotted pages at the back.
The Legend budget planner comes with an accordion pocket for bills and receipts, elastic band for easy closure, a pen loop, a ribbon bookmark, a sticker sheet with 109 stickers and a quick start user manual.
This budget planner has a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon and is backed by a 100% money back guarantee within the first 60 days. This is definitely one of the best budget planners on this list!
Legend Budget Planner
Pros
- Pages are undated
- Includes worksheets and trackers
- Includes 109 Budget-themed Stickers
- Blank spaces for customizable budget categories
- Variety of colors to choose from
- Includes pockets to keep bills and receipts
- Simple & Lightweight
- Great for beginners
Cons
- Has a limited number of spaces for tracking debt
6. Limitless Mindset Budget Planner
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Limitless Mindset Budget Planner
The Limitless Budget Planner has a spiral spine unlike the budget planners listed above. This makes it super easy for the pages to lay flat.
The planner contains 12 color coded months of undated budgeting space. It also includes expenses, income and savings trackers, 3 cash envelopes and is the only budget planner on this list that comes with a custom pen (and stylus).
It comes with 150 stickers, an inner pocket for bills and receipts, it has an elastic loop for proper closure and a pen loop.
There are different colors to choose from. The standard size is 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches and it is quite lightweight (12 oz). The Limitless Mindset Budget Planner Book has a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon.
Limitless Mindset Budget Planner
Pros
- Pages are undated
- Includes worksheets and trackers
- Includes cash envelopes
- Comes with a pen
- Blank spaces to customize your budget categories
- Includes pockets to keep bills and receipts
- Spiral spine allows pages to lay flat
- Includes 150 stickers
- Great for beginners
Cons
- The pages are a bit thin
7. Budgetizer Budget Planner Bill Organizer Book
Personal Thoughts and Key Features of the Budgetizer Budget Planner Bill Organizer Book
The Budgetizer Budget Planner is a perfect example of a budget notebook. Unlike most of the budget planners mentioned above, the Budgetizer Budget Planner Bill Organizer Book has a spiral spine and a hardcover.
It also comes with 3 colorful cash envelopes, perfect for anyone who follows the cash envelope budgeting system.
This budget planner includes blank ‘month at a glance’ calendars, monthly bill organizers and spreads to track income (actual vs projected), expenses, budgets, savings, bills, payments, credit cards, bank statements, taxes, cash flow and more!
The Budgetizer Budget Planner Notebook has Monthly Labels but is undated so can still be started at any time.
It also comes with 12 pockets for bills and receipts (one for each month), an elastic band for easy closure and a ribbon bookmark. It is compact (8.25 x 6.5 x 1 inches) but weighs 1.14 pounds.
Honestly, this planner is great when compared to other budget planners on the market but there were some complaints from customers about it. It has a 4.3 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon.
Budgetizer Budget Planner Notebook
Pros
- Pages are undated
- Includes worksheets and trackers
- Includes 3 cash envelopes
- Includes 12 pockets to keep bills and receipts
- Great for beginners
Cons
- Complaints that the planner was delivered without the envelopes
- Complaints of misprints in the planner
Best Budget Planners Summary & Comparison Table
The comparison table is pretty self explanatory. It highlights the key features and shortcomings of the top budget notebooks included in the list. This will make it easier to decide which of the budget planners best suit your needs and preferences.
Be sure to read the reviews before making your final decision!
How do Budget Planners Save Money?
Budget planners are great for saving money! I know, I know. Some people may argue that you’re spending money to buy a budget planner when you’re supposed to be in a ‘saving money’ mindset. However, I truly believe that getting a great budget planner is one of those times when you need to spend a little to save a lot.
Most of the times, people spend money with no plan in mind, and cannot account for a lot of their spending at the end of the month. In fact, 33% of Americans don’t maintain a budget!
“Where did my money go?”
“I’m so broke. I can’t wait to get paid!”
If these sound like statements you usually make, it may be time to invest in a good budget planner to take control of your finances.
There’s just something about having everything laid out in front of you, tracking your savings, expenses and debt… You get to tell your money what to do, instead of having it the other way around!
A good budget planner keeps you focused, accountable and motivated. Having your finances organized means that you’ll never waste money on late payments ever again. And you can set goals and strategize exactly how to achieve them!
Related Posts on Best Budget Planners
How to Create a Budget in 7 Simple Steps
The 50 30 20 Budget (With Examples, Printables and Excel Spreadsheet)
How to Budget using the Cash Envelope System
Hey! Want some extra budgeting sheets in the meanwhile? Add these supplemental trackers and coloring pages to your budget planner to double down on your financial progress!
Final Thoughts on Budget Notebooks and Budget Planners
Now that you’ve seen the pros and cons of each of the best budget notebooks on the market, which one do you love the most?
Have you already tried one of more of these listed budget planners? Share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
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