2016 Plum Paper Planner + Coupon Code

I ordered a new planner for 2016 in June. A bit early perhaps, but I was doing my 6 month shopping ban starting July, and even though I'd given myself permission to buy a planner, I figured then was as good a time as any.

I was never a planner kind of girl.. before blogging. Then everyone was talking about them! They twisted my arm and I bought a Kate Spade planner, which was great for a newbie like me (and cheap-ish, I paid $27), but I wasn't a fan of a few things and knew I would go elsewhere for 2016. I never actually thought I'd get addicted to using the planner, but ever since I started I have been way more organised and it's just easier for me than trying to use an electronic planner.

After Paige, Joey, Steph and a million other bloggers mentioned Plum Paper Designs planners, I was sold.

You can choose from a bunch of different styles and designs

and the layout of your pages, which was a huge deal to me.

There are 4 options:

Option 1: Days broken down by “Morning, Afternoon, and Evening”
Option 2: Days broken down hourly in 30 minute increments
Option 3: Days broken up with just lines in each column
Option 4: Horizontal spread with weekly notes

Plum Paper Designs

I chose the daily columns just lines (option 3) layout. I added the monthly bill tracker (my heart might have fluttered when I saw it) for only $2 for 12 pages (1 per month).

Obviously as it is not 2016 yet, I haven't really used it. But the plan is to use the weekly list (on the left hand side) for meals, the checklist at the bottom for workouts and in the daily lines I'll write any cleaning, chores, birthdays, planned events etc. I will use the monthly pages for blog posts, which is way better than my old way of using the individual days.

Total cost of my planner, including the add on and shipping, was $38.45. I went to their facebook page to ask them a question and found a coupon instead. It was only like $3 off but who cares. If I use it every single day it's about $0.10 a day and I'm fine with that.

I ordered it on the 30th of June and it took 3 weeks (and one day) to be shipped. It was shipped on a Thursday and I received it the following Monday.

It comes bubble wrapped in a pizza box, which I thought was nice so it doesn't get damaged in shipping.




As you can see, you can personalise your name on the cover. The year on the cover will reflect the year/years of the planner ordered. Since I ordered from January on, I was really hoping it would just say 2016 and not 2015-2016 (I ended up confirming it with them a few days after I ordered). I know that Steph mentioned hers was only 2015 but it said 2014-2015 so they have thankfully they have updated that process.




The front cover is a hard plastic and then the 'page' with your name and year on it is like a thick card stock. I think as long as you take reasonable care of it and don't run over it with your car, it will be fine.

You can make it begin any month you choose, and you can add extra months (there are page limits though). I like my things nice and even, and I didn't like how long my Kate Spade planner was, so I opted to start in January. 

When I first received the planner, I was slightly disappointed that the bill tracker I ordered was inserted at the end of the month. I didn't have one in my Kate Spade planner so I just used a page at the beginning of the month to write out all my bills so I could cross them off as I paid them, and I found it really handy. So when I saw they had an actual page and not just me making a messy list, I was so excited, but for some reason I expected it to be at the start of the month. It's certainly not the end of the world, and I am already over it but just an FYI if you get add ons. The bill tracker is 2 sided, which is kind of cool. Thankfully I don't have so many bills that I'd need both sides.
Update: it actually says on the picture for whatever add on you are choosing 'end of month' so that's completely my fault. No big thang.

If you look at the month of April above, you'll notice a line missing. I actually didn't see this at first, Kathy noticed it in her planner and then I checked mine. Not the end of the world, but kind of annoying.

At the end of the planner, there is a 2 Sided Pocket Folder. They also sent these two cute little note cards.



The planner is 7.5" x 9". It's actually thinner than my Kate Spade planner, but definitely heavier (in a good way) and a bit bigger.

Some other things to note: I ordered the monthly planner, but they have many others like a teacher planner, student planner and family planner. You can also add on a bunch of things, like monthly bill trackers, to do lists, extra note pages, fitness tracking and there is even a blog planning section.

So if you are looking for a new 2016 planner, I mean, I know it's only August but like I said they'll take a bit over 3 weeks to get to you and I imagine they'll be crazy busy towards the end of the year, so... you should definitely think about getting one now!

And if you do decide to go with a new Plum Paper planner, I have some good news- I contacted them because I love my planner so much I begged them for a coupon code for everyone else. Use code PORRIDGE10 to get 10% off. It's valid until 12/31/15 so you have plenty of time!

UPDATE: I have had several people tell me that the coupon does not work. Please copy & paste exactly how it is written - all in caps and the numbers 1 and 0, not the letter O. If it does not work, please try SIMPLE10.