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Using my Personal Filofax Finsbury as my wallet and finance planner has been an amazing setup! I love how I always have the information that I need with me!
A few months ago I showed a preview of my pretty little Personal sized Filofax Finsbury in Raspberry. I am still just as in love with this planner as I was the day it arrived in the mail!
The main reason I choose the Finsbury was for these pockets on the inside cover (and the one on the back cover with I’ll talk about in a minute). They are perfect for holding the cards I use most often and want easy access to, like my drivers licence. And the pocket behind the card slots is where I keep any coupons I get.
The dividers for this planner were made with my Silhouette machine. I picked out scrapbook papers that I liked, and laminated them after they were cut out. There are tabs on the dividers, but no labels yet. Eventually I will add labels, but I wanted to make sure I had everything in the right order first.
Need a laminator? I highly recommend this one! I’ve had it for years and it still works perfectly. I’ve even used it for foiling!
My Planner Sections
Section 1: Cards & Cash
The first tab is where my debit and credit cards are kept, along with some of my most used loyalty cards and gift cards. I purchased these card holders made by Day-Timer, and they are working great! I eventually want to get another set and add more of my gift cards to the inside (right now most of them are in a separate business card holder). But for now this is just what I needed.
Although the card pockets are made for Day-Timer Planners, the holes were in almost exactly the same places as my personal sized Filofax. I did have to punch a tiny bit more from one of the holes. But that was an easy fix, and I highly recommend these if you want to turn a personal sized Filofax into a wallet. They are also great quality! Plus, did I mention that you get 5 of them in a package?! So much better than Filofax brand which usually cost more and you just get ONE.
Behind my cards I have a paper envelope for cash. Eventually I will be using the cash system. So I made 4 of these envelopes for my different spending categories. These were also made with my Silhouette. I downloaded an envelope template and cut it into scrapbook paper. Scrapbook paper is so awesome for a lot more than scrapbooking! I use it all. the. time.
Section 2: Shopping List & Notes
The second tab is my shopping lists and things I need to remember while I’m out. My home planner is a Classic Happy Planner (and can I just say that I am obsessed with the drawings in this planner!), and is quite big and bulky, so I don’t like to carry it around with me. I’ve tried smaller planners for my daily stuff, and I just need the room in a bigger planner. But having blank paper for lists in my finance planner is great for just jotting down notes of things I need to do or remember while I’m out.
Section 3: Calendar
Having monthly calendars in my finance planner was necessary for me. These calendars are where I write all the bills that are due, and other expenses (like birthdays and payments that happen every year or 6 months) that I can’t forget. I really need to see the dates that bills are due in a calendar layout to really get it in my head. Once a bill has been paid, I highlight it so I know it has been taken care of.
Section 4: Bill Checklist & Monthly “Budget” Pages
The 4th section has my bill pay checklist, and scratch paper for doing my monthly finances. I have found that the best budget system for me is to write on blank paper the bills I have due each paycheck, and then work out where remaining money goes after that. This has worked really well for me. And when I have tried other systems, I end up always going back to this.
Another thing I have in this section is an income tracker. My income varies each month and I want to have a place to keep track of what it is each time. Every time money comes in, it goes into this log.
Section 5: Credit Score & Debts
Okay, I know that right now this looks like a blank sheet of graph paper. And it is. Shocker, I know. 😉 But I use these grid sheets to track my debts and credit score. Both of these trackers work best for me in a table layout, so I use graph paper to write them out.
P.S. How awesome are all these dividers? I’m just in love looking at them!
Section 6: Receipts & Change
Behind the sixth divider I have… nothing. Just kidding. I keep extra sticky notes, and a clear fly leaf that came with the Filofax. In between the divider and the fly leaf I put all my receipts while I’m out. The fly leaf helps hold them in place. At the end of the month I take them all out and file the ones I need to keep, and throw away everything else.
The back cover has one zipper pocket. I really wanted this pocket to keep my change in. And it totally works for this purpose. But not very well. It is a very tight pocket, so not much change fits in it, and it is hard to get in and out. But it is there if I need it.
Going to Add…
Every planner I own is a constant work in progress. There are still a few things I would like to add to my Filofax to make it a little more efficient.
Like I mentioned earlier, I still need to add labels to the tabs. I want to make sure that everything is in a place that makes sense before I make this (semi) more permanent addition.
Another thing that would be great to have is a pocket of some sort for my receipts. As it is right now, they just get thrown in and stick out (or fall out) all over the place. I’m still trying to decide between a zipper pocket or just making one out of cardstock. Either way, a pocket for receipts is definitely going to be added.
Planner Accessories
Other planner accessories that are in the pictures but not mentioned. Let me know if I left anything out.
- Tassel- I found the tassel at Hobby Lobby on clearance (I also got pink ones). I looped the string around a paperclip, and just attached the paperclip in the top ring of my Filofax. It is actually far less annoying than I expected it to be. Planner charms have not really been my favorite accessory. 😛
- Pen- This is a Cello Pen. It is one of the few that will fit into the pen loop in this Filofax. You can see more of my favorite pens in this post: My Favorite Pens for Planning. It is hard to find pens that are small enough to fit in the loop, let alone ones that I enjoy using. But I really love these Cello Pens!
- Planner Clips- These I made. I look all over craft stores and anything that looks like it could be turned into a planner clip, gets turned into a planner clip. The donuts came from Hobby Lobby. The owl is a sticker from Michaels. And the ribbon paper clip was from THIS tutorial I found through Pinterest. They are really easy to make and look so cute!
- Cupcake Paperclip– I got this from Hobby Lobby. They have a lot of cute paper clips and I’m obsessed with this one and the camera ones.
Overall, I’m really happy with how this is turning out. It has been really useful, and I’m so glad I got it. One of my favorite purchases ever, for sure!
How do you organize your finances? Have you found a way that works best for you?
2 Comments
I am obsessed with planners and I love my Erin Condren because I can do lots of stickers, but I for sure need one in my purse and I love the wallet style. I have the card holders too and they work great. Thank you for sharing.
I love my Erin Condren too! They really are too big to carry everywhere though. I’ve been using this Filofax for years now and I still love it! It’s by far my favorite wallet I’ve ever had! You could also try the Erin Condren On-the-Go Folio, and use a travelers notebook wallet insert. I’m doing some traveling this summer and I’m thinking of setting up my folio to be my wallet and planner in one for trips to save on weight.