My New Favorite Planner For my Money & my Life

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more information.

Want a peek into my life? I am notorious for having a separate monthly and weekly calendar, notebook for to-do lists, meal planning, and grocery lists, and that’s just what’s at my bedside. I also have a scrap piece of paper with our debt pay off goals/progress and I am constantly scribbling on whatever I can get a pen on.

The Struggle is Real

And I’ve never been into big, beautiful, personalized planners. They sound nice, but with everything I’m trying to keep track of, I’d still need my scraps of paper to keep everything recorded.

But when Lauren Greutman posted about her new planner in one of my Facebook groups I wanted to do some research. Lauren is a best-selling personal finance author and mother of 4 who’s passionate about helping women gain financial freedom. And she designed a planner that helps them do just that.

The big difference between the Personal Finance Planner and others is its focus on specifically helping you get out of debt. So if you’re not in debt this may not be the most useful planner for you. If you are actively working to pay off debt and your entire schedule is affected by it, then this planner is going to answer some of your prayers.

When you purchase the planner Lauren walks you through how to use all the features in an eleven-minute video and you instantly have access to a private Facebook group of other people using the planner. Here are just some of the features Lauren includes in the planner.

Start/ Pick up Wherever You Are

Probably my favorite feature, the tabs of the planner are unlabeled. There are stickers in the back that you can label tabs to start on whatever month you want. Or if you get sidetracked and forget about the planner for a month, you can pick back up without wasting a single page.

Bill Priority Sheets for Irregular Income

If your income is different every paycheck it’s hard to know how to budget each month. Lauren has included 12 pages for you to list your bills in priority to determine what gets paid every month. She’s even included a list of budget categories and bills so you don’t forget anything. Think of it as a visual representation of your wallet, when the money runs out on paper you can’t spend it in real life.

Meal Planning and Shopping Lists for Every Week

I have been an advocate for meal planning and never shopping without a list since we started budgeting. Eating out and overspending on groceries are the #1 way to blow your budget. I always plan my list on spare notebook paper but the Personal Finance Planner has a little spot on every day to schedule a meal and the sheet next to it contains shopping lists for every day. While I’m not grocery shopping every day having a daily list will help me to not forget anything that’s recipe specific.

Pay off/ Financial Goals & a Debt Calculation Area

These pages speak volumes to the value of this planner. Every month you can go through these worksheets to establish, on paper, a purpose for the month. You can see concrete progress and reflect on setbacks. We do this verbally but having it visual is going to make it that much more fun.

STICKERS

I’m kind of a sticker nut. If it’s funny and sticks on something, I’m a fan. There are not only month label stickers in here but stickers to label your (included) cash envelopes, budget nights, and pay days.

I haven’t paid for any budget, money classes, or books to help me get out of debt. After 13 months of student loan payments behind me though, I am really excited to make this investment in my day-to-day debt crushing life.

 

For less than $65 (Which I hear is very good for a planner that does all this) you can get epic portable resources at your disposal that will help guide you over the next year. And it offers the convenience needed for people who don’t want piles of scrap papers littering their lives. If you’re interested you can get more info and pics here.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Making a purchase using these links pays for what could potentially be my new planner addiction. Who knows?