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With rising costs of everything, we are all on the search for affordability. So this post will explore the cost of making a planner and whether or not it can be achieved in a modest budget. Happy reading!
Table of contents
Table of Contents
Cost of making a planner – Introduction
Planners help us out in life, without a doubt. But you might have noticed that if you want a planner that has all the features that you want, it can end up costing you quite a bit.
To try and help this issue, many, including myself, have turned to the world of making my own planner.
But when I started out on this journey, I would have loved to know what the costs were before I got started.
This is why we raise the question: “How much does it really cost to make a planner?”
Cost of making a planner – Introduction
Planners help us out in life, without a doubt. But you might have noticed that if you want a planner that has all the features that you want, it can end up costing you quite a bit.
To try and help this issue, many, including myself, have turned to the world of making my own planner.
But when I started out on this journey, I would have loved to know what the costs were before I got started.
Read: Uncover the Key Benefits of Making a Planner: Next-Level Organization
This is why we raise the question: “How much does it really cost to make a planner?”
The Basic Costs
We will start off with the basic cost of creating a planner and then go into more details later on.
Planner Design Cost
Approx. $0-100
For planner design there is a free option. You can go onto a program like Canva and without paying for the pro subscription you can create designs for free. There are templates available there too, all you need to do is change the colors or text to make it yours then you are set to go. You can even sell planners you make on Canva. There are other design programs you can try too.
There is the option of getting the paid version of these programs and that will give you a lot more options. For myself, I did pay for a wonderful design app called Procreate. [€14.99] It is more suited for those who are interested in fully hand drawing their planner design.
The reason I said up to $100 is because you could have someone design it for you, or get some high end expensive design software, which can definitely set you back this much or more.
Read: Decorate Your Planner with these 10 Creative Ideas
Planner Printing Cost
Approx. $0.10-$3.00 per page
If you have a printer at home and you are willing to use standard paper, and print in black and white then you are looking at very tiny amounts of money. I did this when I started out. It works fine!
There are much higher costs involved in using color, and even higher costs involved in printing your planner at a print shop. The other thing I noticed when looking at the research for this is that some print shops required a minimum of 25 pages for $79.
If you were printing out all your planner pages in this way, that could very well lead to a more expensive planner, than other options.
Don’t be shy about asking a friend, if you don’t have a printer and your friend does, ask them to print it and offer a contribution to the ink costs.
Planner Covers
Approx. $6.00-$50.00
Planner covers are hard to get right.
Some budget friendly options are a laminated sheet of paper or card. Or another option if you don’t mind the hand made look, is to just use card, and hand decorate it.
This is very cheap, but then you need to have the binding solution, and that is what can add the most of the money.
Disc binding is great, because you can buy the materials you need once and then any other planners you make can re-use the discs and covers.
If you want to go into a leather bound ring binder that can cost you a lot of money!
Factors Influincing Costs
Some other things can make a difference with the final cost of your planner
- Paper thickness. If you use standard paper, it can be very cheap. I am personally using a recycled paper that I like, that can take markers quite easily. It’s a bit thicker. Remember that even just a couple of cents extra per page of a planner can add up when a full planner printing cost is worked out.
- Cover materials. I have tried so many different planner covers over my years of planning. Some have been expensive mistakes. You can spend a lot, I tried cork, an eco-friendly vegan leather paper, loads of things. Make sure you can afford that before you start.
Why do Planners Often Seem Expensive?
WHY DO PLANNERS COST SO MUCH?
There can be two reasons. Sometimes it is because high end materials are used for that luxury planner feel. Or sometimes it is for the cost of labor that goes into the design and making of the planner if is has been hand crafted.
This is why it is so important for you to budget your money and see what is affordable planning for you and what planner will work out under your budget.
Conclusion
In conclusion, remember the different elements: planner design cost, planner printing cost, and the cover cost and work out if the cost of making a planner can be within your reach.
There is a huge price range so hopefully you will be able to find something affordable for you to achieve.
I’m so grateful that you are here today, please tell me your story down below, are you thinking of making a planner or have you done it before, I value all your comments.
Hope to see you soon,
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