The Boxclever Press Budget Planner is one of the sturdiest and most well-built budget planners out there, even though it is a spiral-bound planner. When it comes to the other budget planer that is built on 3 big rings, Mead Organizer Expense Tracker — which was the flimsiest of the five budget planners I’ve reviewed in parallel — the fact that it is built on 3 rings gives it a lot of disadvantages, such as tearing around the punched holes and plastic rings breaking easily. Fortunately, the Boxclever Press Budget Planner has none of these issues. On the contrary, after having read hundreds of reviews, starting with the negative ones, I’ve noticed a lot of people praise it for its sturdiness. And that is impressive because most budget planners are not praised for this quality.
Take a look over the table below, which contains statistics on users’ perception of sturdiness for all the five budget planners I’ve done a parallel comparison of:
Users’ Perception of Sturdiness
| Budget Planners | Star Rating |
|---|---|
| Boxclever Press Budget Planner | 5 stars |
| Legend Budget Planner Deluxe | 4 stars |
| GoGirl Budget Book | 3 stars |
| Clever Fox Budget Planner | 3 stars |
| Mead Organizer Expense Tracker | 1 star |
However, its sturdy construction can also be considered a disadvantage because it can be perceived as bulkier than the alternatives. For example, I’ve found a user who said this in a review: “although this product is extremely sturdy and easy to use it is just too bulky. I do not know anyone that would want to use a planner or budget book that is so thick. There is absolutely no way to carry this around unless you’re using it in a backpack. It’s too large for a desk drawer once you have receipts or any sort of paperwork in it.“ Apparently, they really couldn’t imagine that there are people who have a lot of debt, a lot of expenses, or who want to keep track of the entire family’s finances, perhaps even their grandparents’. These would be examples of people who especially need a bigger budget planner with more pages.
One of the features that define the Boxclever Press Budget Planner and differentiate it from the competition is the slip-in pocket for each month’s receipts. This is a feature a lot of people praise in the reviews and it is probably one of the main reasons for purchase. In addition to making it easier to use, the pockets are large enough to hold many receipts and papers. And the fact that it doesn’t have just a single pocket, but one for every month, is a big plus when it comes to organization and management. Most popular budget planners only have one pocket. However, more people who reviewed this planner mentioned a problem when it comes to this feature, namely that the pockets are not closed, and if you knock over the planner by accident or hold it upside down, you might end up with all the papers in your lap, although the planner has an elastic to keep it shut. If it had an extra flap at the top of each pocket, it would hold stuff better in place. This budget planner would be ideal for an elderly relative you want to keep track of finances for. You will have everything together, organized by month for easy access.
These pockets also contribute a lot to the overall bulky look that it has. But you will probably not carry it around all the time, especially if you store all your receipts in it. I’ve actually seen people complain about it in reviews, they probably didn’t understand its pros and cons before buying it. If you want a budget planner that you can carry around all the time, consider buying a smaller one, such as the Legend Budget Planner Deluxe, which is also sturdy in addition to being small, so it largely has the same features. But you will clearly lose the possibility of storing yours, your neighbor’s, and your dog’s paperwork, which you don’t want to have with you at all times anyway, right?
Due to the spiral, you can flip the cover to the back of the planner and keep it open on the page that you want without taking up too much space on the desk. That’s a pretty big advantage because it is large enough as it is.
Not the easiest to use, but also not very complicated. In the case of the Boxclever Press Budget Planner as well, we have both positive and negative reviews when it comes to how easy or complicated it is to use. And I can’t say there are many more leaning in one direction. It depends a lot on how your brain is wired and how you are used to looking at the financial side of the planning process. On the intuitive side, it came out similar to the Legend Budget Planner Deluxe. If you are a beginner, or if you really want an intuitive budget planner, have a look at the GoGirl Budget Book, which is by far the most praised in terms of its ease of use. And not just from my perspective, but from the perspective of the hundreds of reviews I have personally verified. Take a look at the table below if you want to get a perspective on the intuitiveness of the five budget planners I’ve compared:
Users’ Perception of Intuitiveness
| Budget Planner | Star Rating |
|---|---|
| GoGirl Budget Book | 5 stars |
| Mead Organizer Expense Tracker | 4 stars |
| Boxclever Press Budget Planner | 3 stars |
| Legend Budget Planner Deluxe | 3 stars |
| Clever Fox Budget Planner | 1 stars |
Another thing worth mentioning regarding intuitiveness is that you have predefined fields like household bills, clothing, food, pets, and fun, which are probably welcome for beginners. But if you are an independent contractor, for example, who would need different categories (and you don’t have expenses for food or kids), you will have to find a workaround, maybe by using stickers, or you will have to go to a different budget planner altogether. For example, the Mead Organizer Expense Tracker doesn’t have predefined Monthly Budget categories, so it will be much easier for you to define them yourself.
It’s beautiful. All the five budget planners I’ve compared have had a lot of positive reviews when it comes to design and overall look. The Boxclever Press Budget Planner didn’t necessarily have the most, but they weren’t completely missing either. I believe all modern budget planners have a nice design and don’t disappoint from an aesthetic point of view. If you want to form a more clear opinion, take a look at the video below that contains a page-by-page walkthrough of the product.
Boxclever Press Budget Planner Features:
The budget planner has an elastic to keep it well shut, page markers that are not very well anchored as they are just satin ribbons tied to the top coil, pages for a monthly and yearly overview, it is undated and it comes in just one color (at least on Amazon). It is also the heaviest of the 5 I’ve compared. If you want to get an overview of the types of pages, layout, and structure, take a look at this video:
Conclusion:
The Boxclever Press Budget Planner is the sturdiest budget planner I’ve reviewed, it is bulky and heavy, and for that reason, it is not suitable for people who want to carry it around. It is ideal for people who want to keep their financial paperwork in one place (receipts and invoices) and have it nicely organized per month instead of thrown in a pile. If you have to go back to it often for special reasons, then it would be even more useful. In addition, it is beautiful and quite intuitive to use.