For anyone new to bullet journaling and / or using a paper planner, choosing which stationery is worth spending money on is probably a bit overwhelming – there’s so many good options these days. The recommendations I’m giving in this post may not be the ‘best of the best’, but if you’re not sure if bullet journaling is a hobby you’re going to stick with, or if you’re trying to find a gift for someone that’s recently started using a planner, then here are my recommendations using this criteria:

• Affordable
• Readily available (e.g. in most office supply stores or on Amazon)
• Durable / last a long time
• Good quality
• Something you’ll use regularly, not ‘fancy’ or ‘one use only’ type supplies

In this post I’ll give you recommendations for:

• Dot grid notebook
• Gel pens
• Ballpoint pens
• Fineliner pens
• Erasable pens
• Marker pens
• Dot markers
• Highlighters
• Stencils
• Washi tape
• Dot grid guide / ruler
• Alphabet stencils
• Sticky notes
• Stamps
• Tools if you want to splurge

I give so many recommendations on this blog I’m going to try and pick just one for each of these, but I may end up giving multiple recommendations if it’s too hard to choose!

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Best dot grid notebook for beginners:

Clever fox

This is my top pick as it has great quality paper with hardly any ghosting, multiple cover options and is just an all round good quality notebook for a good price.

Get the original (more affordable version) of the notebook here on Amazon. If you’d like the version with better paper (but costs a bit more), that’s available here.

Read more: Clever Fox Dotted Journal Notebook review

If you’re looking for an affordable notebook don’t expect the paper to be perfect with no ghosting or bleed through (if that’s what you’re looking for, then check out my recommendations in this post – you’ll need to pay about double the price of this notebook).

If you’re starting a bullet journal then full color / decorative spreads are probably going to be a bit intimidating, so a notebook with amazing paper isn’t really necessary. Instead, I’d start off with experimenting with different weekly layouts, then worry about adding decorations to your spreads later on (in your second journal if you decide to stick with it).

Clever fox still does pretty well with only some ghosting for MAMBI stamps, neon highlighters and the marker pens.

See these posts if you need some ideas for your spreads:

• 20 Bullet Journal Weekly Spread Ideas (One Page Layouts)
• 10 Quick and Simple Bullet Journal Daily Layouts
• 26 Non-typical 2 page weekly spreads to try
• 30 Minimalist Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads (set up the week in 10 minutes or less)
• Quick, simple and functional bullet journal decorating tips
• 10 Bullet Journal weekly layouts if you want to keep work and personal in the same spread
• 10 Bullet Journal Landscape Page Orientation Weekly Spreads
• 15 Quick and Simple Vertical Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads
• 10 Quick horizontal bullet journal 2 page weekly spreads

The notebook also has handy features like different colored bookmarks, page numbers and a built in pen loop. Pages lay flat on their own and there’s even a rose gold cover option.

More dot grid notebook recommendations in this post: 10 Cheap bullet journal notebooks (that cost $15 USD or less)

Best gel pens for beginners

Pilot poplol gel pens

These pens come in a variety of tip sizes, colors (including rare colors like brown, teal and metallic colors). They’re readily available at Officeworks in Australia, and in stationery stores across the USA and Japan. I’ve found them a little harder to spot on Amazon and in Europe though.

I usually see them sold individually (so you can save money and just buy a black pen to test it out), but you can buy them in packs too.

A close second would Pilot G-2 07. These are more expensive but the ink lasts longer and they write a bit smoother than the pop’lol. They don’t come in as many colors though.

The packaging is similar for the various tip sizes, so make sure you double check before purchasing.

Best ballpoint pens for beginners

PaperMate Inkjoy Ballpoint 1.0M

I’ve moved away from using ballpoint pens over the years in favour of erasable pens ad gel pens instead. But if you’re looking for a good entry level ballpoint pen I used the papermate inkjoy ballpoint pens for years.

The link lasts a long time, they’re easy to find and inexpensive. If you want to color code they have all the staple colors you need: pink, purple, green, blue, red and orange. If you have sub-categories there’s 2 shades of green and 2 shades of blue in this pack.

You can get a version with a lid and there’s a retractable version too.

Best fineliner pens for beginners

Stabilo point 88 0.4mm fineliner

There are 88 colors to choose from which is the widest variety I’ve seen offered by any pen brand so you’re sure to fine the perfect shade!

I normally stay away from anything less than 7mm, but I actually like the 0.4mm, it feels thicker than that and works well with no ink skipping if you write on an angle like I do.

These pens are readily available to purchase individually or in sets ranging from 10 to 65 (!) different colors. I’ve seen them at office supply stores in Australia, Japan, the USA and Germany. And of course, on Amazon.

Best erasable pens for beginners

Pilot Frixion Erasable.

These were the first erasable pens I tried and are still my favorite!

Best marker pens for beginners

Staedtler Twin Tip Pens.

The thing I don’t like about marker pens, is that the tips always go blunt too quickly. So what starts as a crisp pen tip ends up being sometimes twice the original thickness. That’s why I’m recommending the Staedtler Twin Tip. This affordable option is dual tip so you get 2 sizes for the price of one more expensive marker pen (e.g. MUJI). These pens come in a variety of colors too.

You may have to head to the kids art supplies section of a craft store to find these. Otherwise you can get them at Officeworks here in Australia and of course, on Amazon.

While this is just one recommendation, I can’t recall a single marker pen that I didn’t like, a lot of them are much the same so don’t get too stressed if you can’t find these exact marker pens.

Read more: Favorite dual tip highlighters for planning (roundup) 

Best dot markers for beginners

Anko.

Sorry to all my international readers! But this one goes to Kmart here in Australia. Despite some of their pens being hit and miss, their dot marker pens have nailed it in terms of nice colors + affordability.

Put a piece of scrap paper underneath the page when you use them though (to avoid bleed through).

 Read more: 7 Ways to use dot markers in your planner or bullet journal

Best highlighters for beginners

J Burrows (if you live in Australia). Stabilo Boss highlighters if you live outside of Australia. 

I’ve never really found much of a difference in highlighters other than how long the ink lasts. The colors are much the same unless you’re looking for something specific. For example, you’ll usually have to pay more for a pen style dual tip like the Zebra Mildliners, versus a more generic chisel tip highlighter. You’ll also have to pay more for rare colors like teal, red, grey and metallic colors.

I really love the Stabilo Boss highlighters but if you don’t need the huge range of colors they come in, the J Burrows highlighters from Officeworks are basically the same.

For comparison, at Officeworks it costs $8 AUD for the J Burrows 6 pack, but it costs $16 AUD for the Stabilo boss 6 pack.

If you don’t live in Australia, or don’t like the Stabilo Boss, check out this post to help you choose: Highlighter Brands Comparison (And My Favorite Highlighters for Each Brand)

Best planner stickers for beginners

This is the hardest one on this list to give just one recommendation, as there are so many options for decorative and functional stickers out there nowadays!

But the stickers I always seem to come back to, which come in very nice colors, are affordable and reasonably easy to find, are the Carpe Diem sticker tablets.

In particular I love the calendar and number sticker books. I’ve gone through multiple copies of these sticker books over the years. The broad range of colors can be paired with so many other brands and stationery to create multi colored spreads, spreads in different shades of the same color, decorative spreads, functional spreads, weekly spreads, monthly calendars – so many options!

Read more: 10 Ways to create quick bullet journal weekly spreads using functional planner stickers

Best stencils for beginners

Pretty much any stencil from Amazon. No really, there are so many sellers offering very similar stencils at affordable prices. Filter your search by the type of stencil you need to speed it up (e.g. monthly calendar, weekly spread, checklist etc.).

I’ve shared some of my favorites in this post.

If you’re overwhelmed by all the choices, I’d start with the Zicoto stencils. There’s a good variety of stencils in this pack and they come in a nice case to store them in.

Best washi tape for beginners

So hard to choose! I’d start with some 3mm washi tape. I’m recommending thin washi tape over the ‘standard’ 15mm size washi tape because you have more options with the thin washi. You can:

• Use it to divide up the page into sections for each day
• Cover up existing sections in a planner or printable
• Layer multiple strips of washi to add color and fill in awkward gaps (e.g. if you have excess space at the top or bottom of the page)
• Use it for borders
• Color code

Happy Planner have some nice skinny washi tape if you like tape with patterns.

Once you get a better idea of the type of spreads you like to create, some functional washi tape which can be more expensive per roll but will save you a ton of time such as:

• Checklist
• Days of the week
• Monthly dates (list)

Some brands that offer functional washi tapes like this are: Oops a Daisy, Sunshine Sticker Co and Ink by Jeng (she’s closed down so if you like the washi tape, get it as it won’t be restocked once sold out).

Best dot grid stencil for beginners

This ones hard to choose as there’s so many good options now! I used to say the Ink by Jeng stencil but since she’s gone out of business I’d say Sunshine Sticker Co (very affordable at only $10 AUD). Unfortunately she’s also closed down her business so once my sister sells out of the stencil, it won’t be restocked.

There are some other options in this post: The best time saving row and column stencils for bullet journaling.

The next best option would be Oops a daisy which offer both A5 and B5 row and grid stencils. They also have templates if you want spaces between your boxes / rows or no spaces. They’re a bit pricey though.

Best alphabet stencils for beginners

PA Essentials have affordable stencils that I keep on coming back to.

If you want a wider variety of fonts and are willing to spend a bit more, then try the Oops a Daisy alphabet stencils.

Best sticky notes for beginners

Post it note 3M. Always. They stay sticky for a long time and can be peeled and re-stuck multiple times.

They aren’t the cheapest sticky notes out there, but if you buy a smaller pack (no matter how tempting the bigger packs with the variety of colors are), then they’re still affordable.

Sticky note weekly spread (pastel theme)

If you’re on a tight budget, it’s probably better to skip buying cheaper sticky note brands and DIY them instead (cut some paper to size and use washi tape to adhere to the page).

Related post: 10 Quick planner hacks you need to try (planning tips & inspiration)

Best stamps for beginners

Pilot Frixion erasable.

These are basically the only stamps I use. They’re very affordable and the huge array of graphics to choose from can be used to make coded lists.

Unlike other stamp brands, these usually only have light ghosting on thin paper (no bleed through).

These stamps are available at Officeworks in Australia, online through various sites, and in many stationery stores across Japan. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t have a very good selection of the stamps (only the weather icons and random icons like weigh scales)

Read more: Favorite Stationery Shops in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka)

Best tools if you want to splurge

There’s plenty of nifty tools such as:

• Archer and Olive Acrylograph pens
• Helix circle maker
• MAMBI punch, ARC punch or Levenger (if you want to make a discbound notebook). I did a comparison of all 3 brands in this post: Discbound punch comparison – ARC versus Levenger versus Happy Planner

In summary, these are the best supplies for beginner bullet journaling

• Clever fox dot grid notebook (pro version)
• Pilot poplol gel pens
• PaperMate Inkjoy Ballpoint 1.0M
• Stabilo point 88 0.4mm fineliner
• Pilot Frixion Erasable
• Staedtler Twin Tip Pens
• Anko dot markers
• J Burrows highlighters
• Carpe Diem sticker tablets
• Zicoto stencils
• 3mm washi tape
• Sunshine Sticker Co row and column stencils
• PA Essentials alphabet stencils
• Post it note 3M sticky notes
• Pilot frixion erasable stamps

If you want more, I have an entire guide filled with my recommendations for the best stationery which you can download for free here.

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