(My First) Erin Condren Life Planner // 3 Months In Review

Hi Guys, I know a lot of you are into planners like I am... so I thought I would share how things are going with my first ECLP. :)

I was not initially going to purchase one, they are a little bit bright for my taste, and obviously on the pricier end.... but they got me with the new rose gold design. (which of course was more expensive). So I made it my, "Christmas Present" to myself... and here's what I've got to say 3 months in!

Planner: ECLP - Rose Gold
Cost: $75 (YIKES)
Time Using: 3 Months

Extras Purchased: (... it was cyber Monday.... don't judge ....) budget book, activity log, pen holder stick-on, set of bands to hold closed.

Pros: 

-I chose vertical layout, I like it a lot. I divide my day up into, "brand", "home", and "self" - which works really well for me!
-It's pretty. I love the rose gold, I love the lavender.
-I like the stickers.
-I like how it is organized to include yearly goals, monthly goals, etc. and in general how easy it is to keep everything together.
-I like how many add-ons there are to customize your planner even more without actually ordering a custom planner.
-The post-its are very pretty, they look really cool on the monthly pages, and I like that they clip onto the spiral.

Cons:

-Quality Issues:
     -After just 2 months of use, the rose gold started coming off of my spiral.
     -Also at 2 months, the top right corner of my cover (that it came with) has started to separate from      itself, (you can see this in the first picture, top right hand corner.)
-The paper seems a little thin all things considered. My pens and markers are easy to see from one side to the next... so it's hard for me to "decorate" it in fancy writing, etc.
-No address section! As someone who sends lots of snail mail, I was bummed to find no actual address section in this extensive planner. There is a small one in the perpetual calendar (which was included with the rose gold planner). But it holds maybe 10 contacts. We send 25+ postcards every. time. we travel. So this doesn't work for me... I will have to copy them into the notes pages I guess. Erin Condren does sell a separate full sized address book... but that seemed like more of an investment than I wanted. I just wanted a few pages tucked into this planner... : /
-With the pages, and the bookmark clip, and the pocket with my budget/activity trackers it seems really full. The band is helpful (and pretty!) but it still seems like it might be part of the problem with the cover splitting.
-The stick on pen holder does not stay in place.
-I've only used a hand full of the metallic post-it notes, (bought later...), which were one of the pricier accessories on the site... and the first one ripped when I pulled it off. Overall the paper must be thin... because they rip pretty easily. Not great quality. (you can see how some rip when you take them off in the photo above).
-While the do-it-all dot stickers are cool... they aren't the most practical for me. Who goes to the Dr. 6 times per year? Unless you have kids or frequent appointments it just doesn't make sense to have that many. Yet, I used the $ ones to mark pay days... and I ran out half way through the year... I have no idea what to do with the makeup ones... ? You get the idea...
-The cost, especially for the quality

Overall:

I love the layout, I am glad I am trying it out. I doubt I will re-order in the future. The quality isn't great for the price, and the design is a little too loud and colorful for me. I do have several covers now... so I may consider buying an address book... to keep at home... so I can still use the covers, and have one larger address book around to reference. I'm not 100% sure I won't re-order... but I'm leaning toward no right now. If I did... I would go for the cheapest option with the clear coil.. and probably wouldn't buy a lot of add-ons.

If you are interested in purchasing the ECLP or any of the accessories use my referral code to save $10 on your first purchase: https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/alexandraconsolver0703

What do you guys think? Have any of you tried the ECLP?

What planner do you use? What do you think of it?

XO,

Alexandra