When I was roaming around Kmart’s stationery section having a look at what was new, I came across this pretty little notebook. Well I thought it was a notebook based on the price tag. Then I had a closer look and saw that it’s actually a weekly planner… for only $2.50. That’s the normal retail price, not a sale price… This is officially the cheapest planner I have ever found! So let’s see if it’s a bargain or too good to be true.
Quick facts
- Size: 6″ wide x 8″ high
- Cardstock cover
- Staple binding
- Dates at a glance page
- 2 page Monthly calendar (starts Sunday)
- 2 page monthly overview (starts Monday)
- 2 page weekly spread (starts Monday)
- Neutral inside pages
- Undated
- Lasts 12 months
Let’s take a closer look!
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… I said I wouldn’t buy this planner in the video but I changed my mind. I do like this planner, I just wish Kmart hadn’t short-cutted and skipped including enough weekly spreads to last an entire year and a more sturdy cover would be great… but I really love that weekly spread (and haven’t seen the layout or anything similar in another planner). I think this would be a good second planner for meal planning, study planning during busy periods of the semester, blog planning etc.
The Cover
The cover is thin cardstock and will be easily bent, but for $2.50 it’s to be expected. I
I really like the size of this planner. Most planners these days seem to be 7″ wide x 9′ high. This one is an inch shorter on both sides. I think it’s a great size if you find most planners slightly too big but A5 too small.
Super thin – only 0.25″ thick!
The planner starts with the dates at a glance page.
There’s nothing pre-printed so you could add public holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, routine tasks, reminders or anything else you like
Related post: Setting up a new planner: 70 Tasks to add
Following this page are the monthly and weekly spreads.
Monthly Spread
As you can see there are no dates so you can start using it at anytime of the year. It starts on a Sunday but you could always change the start day with some days of the week stickers.
The circles for each day are 0.25″ diameter – big enough to write in or cover up with date dot stickers.
Each box is about 1.5″ wide x 1″ high. The notes sidebar is about 1.5″ wide.
Monthly Overview
Following the monthly calendar is this 2 page monthly overview with 4 weeks. The start day is not consistent with the monthly calendar and the weekend is also combined into 1 box.
When I saw this layout I thought it would make a great blog post planner but you could also use it for meal planning. The small post it note 3M page flags comfortably fit in the boxes.
I wish more planners would include something like this. You can fit so much more things in the wider rectangle boxes instead of the little squares in traditional monthly calendars.
Weekly Spread
This is the part where I get confused. You’ve got this weekly spread, which is great… but there’s only one of them before the next month starts. I don’t know if this is how the planner was intended to be printed or if I just got a dud. All of the other planners that looked the same as this one were the same size so I don’t think it’s a case of pages missing from only the planner I bought.
Anyway despite this, I do really like this functional weekly spread – it’s one of the first I’ve found to have a half width weekly instead of the entire left page with the weekly spread. I’ll probably divide that list on the left page into 2 and do Saturday and Sunday planning there as the weekend space is so small.
Update: a reader suggested the intention of the planner may be that the 5th week of the month has been pushed to page 3 (refer image below), and that the stuff to remember, get it done etc. are actually for the entire month.
The monthly spread + monthly overview + weekly pages are repeated for 12 months.
For the cover saying ‘make it happen’ I thought there’d be some goal pages but the planner doesn’t have any extra pages at the back – not even 1 notes page!
Pen Testing
I didn’t bother doing a pen test as the ink of the planner pages can be seen on the backside.Not as bad ghosting as most dot grid notebooks but enough that it’s noticeable. If you can see the design on the backside, pens are definitely going to show through on the other side too.
Pros of the Planner
- Super cheap price
- Portable size
- Very lightweight
- Pages lay flat on their own
- Bright white paper
- Not a colorful spread so you can add as much color without them clashing with colors of the planner
- I really like that week at a glance for the entire month
Cons of the Planner
- Thin paper that’s prone to ghosting
- Boring black cover (at least the text is foiled)
- Flimsy cardstock cover
- No notes or other extras pages
- Odd configuration with only 1 weekly spread for each month
Would I use this planner?
Yes. If this planner had the appropriate number of weekly spreads for each month (even if it cost a few dollars more) it would still be a ridiculously cheap planner. Yes the paper quality isn’t the best but for such a cheap price I’m ok with it.
This planner has such a good base design if they’d just expand on it to include some goals, notes pages and more weekly spreads I’d be happy to pay 3x the price… which would only be $10! Kmart have a knack for making pretty things with a cheap price tag <3
I think this planner would make a great second planner. If you’re someone that’s thinking about splitting meal planning or budgeting out of your main planner and don’t want to carry around a heavy second planner, this would be a great option (it weighs practically nothing).
If you’re someone that doesn’t use a planner very often – maybe only during busy times of the school semester – this planner could be a good option too.
More planner reviews:
Planning Tips:
- Planning Tips: 10 Ways to Plan Your Week Faster
- Bored with your planner? 25 ways to mix it up
- 12 Planner Layout Ideas for Monthly Habit Tracking in Your Bullet Journal
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Thanks for all you do for us “glam planners!”
Only one weekly spread for each month sounds about right. There are spaces for four weeks which should last the entire month; the only problem I foresee is for those months with five weeks but for $2.50 I could overcome that! Thank you for these awesome, in depth reviews!
We don’t have Kmarts in the US anymore. Makes me very sad. They always had great value in the stationary section. And I loved doing my seasonal shopping there as well.
You might not have Kmart, but at least you have Michaels, Joann and Hobby Lobby – we don’t have those here
I was so confused with this planner too!! I love it but also want 4 of the weekly spread pages.
I have done a “phonics diary/work book” for my 6yo daughter. I will email you pics incase anyone else is looking for inspo.
I LOVE your blog! Thank you.
There are 5 weeks to the planner and the goals and wishlist are for the entire month. The weeks go through Monday to Friday and groups weekend together.