2019-2020 Erin Condren Life Planner Review

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The new 2019-2020 Erin Condren Life Planner just launched a few weeks ago. And I know you have plenty of awesome planners to choose from, but I want show you why the LifePlanner is my favorite! And check out my favorite ways to save money on any order from Erin Condren at the end of the post!

The new 2023-2024 Erin Condren LifePlanners are now available! See the updated review here…

There are SOOOO many new planners launching right now. It is prime Planner Season for sure. But sometime around February I jumped on the Erin Condren bus and I haven’t looked back.

I’ve been through a lot of planners in my lifetime. So it shouldn’t be taken lightly when I say that planner peace can exist! I tried out enough planners to know what it doesn’t feel like!

But I really love my Erin Condren LifePlanner. And I love it so much that I was willing to buy my 2020 planner in May; more than six months before the new year.

That’s pretty impressive for someone like me with planner commitment issues!

*I should also mention, the pictures in this post are of the Neutral Vertical LifePlanner, because that’s the one I decided to get for next year.*

So let’s talk about the LifePlanner. Whether you are new to planning altogether or just new to Erin Condren, I want to show you what I love (and don’t love) about the LifePlanner and why I was confident enough to spend more than $50 just on a planner (and how to save money on it too! Like by signing up here and getting $10 off 😉 ).

The Basics: What you need to know

The 2020 Erin Condren LifePlanner is a coiled paper planner that can be customized to fit just about anyone’s style.

The first thing you’ll choose is your cover. There are dozens of designs to pick from! Most of them can be customized with different colors, and all of them can customized with your name, business, sorority, or favorite quote. Or leave it blank. You can even add your favorite picture to the cover (either as the entire cover or overlapping a design).

One of my absolute favorite things about the LifePlanner is that the covers are interchangable. Anytime you want to switch up the look of your planner, just change out the covers. Most planners don’t have that option, and the ones that do (Happy Planner being the most popular) don’t really sell other cover options without buying a whole new planner.

After you choose your (first) cover, you’ll move into the other options.

Erin Condren offers 3 styles of Life Planners: Vertical, Horizontal, and Hourly. Each of these styles can be purchased with either a colorful or neutral color scheme.

There are also 4 different metal coil options. Platinum/Silver is standard and included in the cost. There is a $10 upcharge for the other options: Gold, Rose Gold, and Black. All the coils are incredibly thick and durable. I have no doubt that it can stand up to a year of abuse!

Planner Details

The Paper – Like the past two years, the 2019-2020 Erin Condren LifePlanner is made with thick Mohawk paper. It is definitely a quality paper, and with the right pen, it makes for some beautiful spreads.

I say “the right pen” because there are some pens that I personally just don’t prefer to use on this type of paper. Because of the slight texture of the paper, most felt tip pens are too rough and absorb into the paper. The odd exception to this (and I honestly don’t know what the difference is!), is the Erin Condren dual tip markers. She must have tested a lot of pens to find one that works in her planner, because somehow they write beautifully on the pages.

Gel pens are also amazing on the paper. The Pilot G2 and Papermate Inkjoy Gel are incredible.

The Calendar Layout – The LifePlanners are monthly/weekly planners. Each month has a notes page next to the divider quote page, a monthly calendar, and then the weekly spreads in the layout that you choose (vertical, horizontal, or hourly).

New to the 2019-2020 version are two new notes pages. One is just a plain notes page (it is blank in the colorful and dot grid in the neutral), and the second is more structured with 4 boxes. However, these boxes can be used any way you want. Two are labeled as “Birthdays” and “Goals” but can be easily covered to be anything.

Other Pages – In addition to the actual calendar pages, there are a few other planning pages that come in each planner. In the front there are two pages with 12 boxes (this year they are lined!).

The back of the planner has a few lined notes pages (three in the July-June version, four in the 18 month and January-December version), four dot grid notes pages, and two coloring pages.

I’ve seen more people that hate the color pages than those that like them, but they would be so easy to repurpose into something else. I’ve already seen people using the hexagon coloring page for goals, weight loss, and self care treats.

Next there is a page with 12 hexagons. It will be interesting to see how people end up using this page. I was thinking of using it to pick a focus word for each month. Others have said they will use it for goals.

And just like last year, this planner also includes a contacts page and two pages for planning the next year (2021!!).

The Extras – I love the little extras that come with the LifePlanner. Each one comes with a snap in ruler bookmark (which has been upgraded for this year and is awesome!), double sided pocket folder in the back, and 4 sheets of foiled stickers. And new this year, they also come with a decorative storage box. These are a few of the things that I think help to make it worth the cost. It’s not just a basic calendar printed up and bound. They really thought about what would make it more functional to use and take on the go when needed.

Let’s talk more about the cost…

As I mentioned earlier, these are not cheap planners (which is the main downside). Nor are they made cheaply, though.

Honestly, for me the cost is worth it.

For one, I went from buying multiple planners a year to only needing one. I would get bored or frustrated with the one I had, and so I would go get a different one in an attempt to stay organized. So buying one expensive planner is a lot cheaper than the *more than I want to admit to* planners I have purchased in previous years.

Second, I always buy them with some sort of discount. (See the end of this post for different ways to save money on your planner!)

Third, the quality really is there. I’ve had a Recollections coiled planner (some of those are very similar to the Erin Condren Planners) and there is a HUGE difference in quality. That includes the paper quality, divider quality, and included sticker quality. Erin Condren covers are also thicker than Recollections and Happy Planner covers.

So how much does it cost?

Starting Price – $55
with Metallic Foiled Cover – $60
If you choose to upgrade your coil, it adds $10 to the price.
And currently there is an option to have either a 12 month planner (either July 2019-June 2020 or January-December 2020) or an 18 month planner (July 2019-December 2020). If you choose the 18 month option, it is an additional $5.

So the price will vary between $55 and $75 depending on the options you choose.

Favorite Accessories

I would love to tell you about every accessory Erin Condren sells. But that would take forever, and I haven’t actually tried them all yet.

But I would like to tell you about some of my favorites; the ones I use all. the. time.

Interchangeable Covers. Yep, I already mentioned this. But I would say it is the accessory I buy the most of. If you want to see some of the ones I have, you can watch this haul video from the last BOGO free cover sale. That’s totally a thing. And if you like covers too, you should watch for it!

An added bonus of the interchangable covers is that they can double as a dashboard for notes or lists. The inside of each cover has lines where you can write with a wet-erase marker any other notes that you may need to remember. Especially temporary things that might not need a permanent place in your planner.

Snap-in Mini Bookmarks. I’m kinda obsessed with these too. I buy way more of them than I could ever use. I just think they are brilliant! It is a great way to mark the pages you need to get to quickly, but it doesn’t get in the way and block the page you are looking at (or make weird bumps in the page because it’s always in the way when you are trying to write).

Dual Tip Markers. I mentioned these earlier too. When I first got my LifePlanner, I did a pen test with all of my favorites. I was really disappointed that my felt tip pens didn’t seem to be compatible with the paper in the LifePlanner. I was skeptical to even try the Dual Tip Markers because of that, but sooooo many people loved them, I decided to try them anyway. And I love them too. I can’t tell you why they are different, but for whatever reason they are and I love how they look on the page. The colors are amazing, but black will always be my go-to color.

Stickers. What can I say? I really love stickers, and the Erin Condren stickers are no exception. Mostly I just use the sticker books. There are a few random sheets I use sometimes, but I’m trying to simplify my planning so the books provide plenty of variety for me to find what I need.

How to Save Money on your LifePlanner (and Accessories)

As promised, I also wanted to mention some ways to save money on your LifePlanner and accessories.

1. A great way to save $10 is to use a referral link when you sign up for an account. Many people offer these, and if you would like to use mine you can get it here. If you use my code then I also get a $10 credit to use on ErinCondren.com, so if you are willing to go through my link, I am always super appreciative! And what I love about these codes is that you can use them any time of year. No need to wait for a sale.
2. You can also save money by referring other people with your referral link. Once you have signed up, you can see your personal link in your account settings. Share it with people who might be interested in purchasing, and when they do then you will get a $10 credit too. It’s definitely a win-win for everyone!
3. Also when you sign up, make sure to activate Insider Rewards. You will get points just for signing up and for following Erin Condren on social media. Then those points can be redeemed on a purchase too. But they also count as a coupon, so it won’t stack with the referral code coupon. To get the most out of it, use a referral code coupon the first time you order (it will only work on your first order) and then use the Insider points on a future purchase.
4. Purchase during a site-wide sale. These are more common during winter months, but they do happen sometimes. Generally these sales are through a coupon code, which means they can’t be stacked with other coupon codes- like the one you would get from my referral link.
5. Shop when the LifePlanner are on sale. These sales usually start towards the end of the year and go through about March or April of the next year. So if you are reading this during January-April, you should really go check them out now! Plus, these sales are usually stackable with coupon codes. So you can use the referral code, site-wide sale code, or Insider points at the same time. Double bonus!
6. When you purchase a LifePlanner, they usually come with two coupons for 20% off that you can use or share with a friend. If you have a friend who’s willing to share, that’s an awesome way to get a discount! Or if you plan to purchase two planners (maybe a LifePlanner and a Deluxe Monthly, Academic Planner, or Teacher Planner), then buy the LifePlanner first, get the coupons, and use them on the next planner. Or use them to stock up on accessories.
7. My last tip is to save on accessories. Anytime you buy 4 or more accessories, you automatically get 15% off. This will also stack with other sales that they do, like the BOGO free interchangable cover sales (my favorite!) or the site-wide coupon codes. That being said, I also recommend taking advantage of the interchangeable cover sales when they happen! You won’t get extra covers for any cheaper than during that sale!

Make sure that you are signed up for their emails too. This is the best way to find out about sales. You can also follow Erin Condren on Instagram and get sale notifications that way too.

I hope these help you save a little money! I’ve gotten LifePlanners for more than half off with a little patience and good timing.

Even without discounts and sales, I would still purchase the LifePlanner. It has helped me to really get a grip on my life and the things I need to get done. The weekly spread has plenty of space to write down everything I need to do and keep track of. Plus with the extra notes pages now within each month, it should be easy to find space to track goals, projects, and anything else you might need during the month.

If you are interested in seeing how I set up my first month in my new LifePlanner, you can check out that post here. I got July set up and ready to go, and I can’t wait to start using it in a few weeks.

You can also see all my weekly spreads on Instagram @lauren_msbl.

If you have any questions about the 2019 – 2020 Erin Condren LifePlanner, please leave them in the comments below and I’d be happy to answer them. I’ve really loved using my LifePlanner and I can’t wait to start using the new version too!