Erin Condren 18 Month LifePlanner vs 12 Month – Which Should You Choose?

Depending on the time of year, Erin Condren LifePlanners are usually available in either a 12 month or 18 month option.

Traditionally, Erin Condren releases her new designs in April or May of each year.

For example, the 2020/2021 LifePlanners came out in April of 2020 and featured 2 different collections:

• Layers and
• Flower Power.

You could order either one of these in a 12 month or 18 month spread as follows:

• 12 months – July 2020 to June 2021
• 12 months – January 2021 to December 2021
• 18 months – July 2020 to December 2021

So, which one should you get?

Speaking from experience, I will always choose the 18 month – even if I already have a planner for the current year.

This is why.

Nominal Additional Cost

Typically, an 18 month LifePlanner costs only five dollars more than a 12 month version.

You read that right – you get 6 additional months for only five dollars.

Flexibility In Planning

My 2020 Erin Condren LifePlanner in last year's Kaleidoscope design is a 12 month planner.

I bought it in August or September of 2019.

Since the year was closer the end, I figured I wouldn't need the 18 month option – especially since some of the months had already passed.

Big mistake for me!

I found that I was itching to dig in and get started even before year end.

So basically I was kicking myself for not ponying up the extra five bucks to give myself the flexibility to start using it whenever I was ready.

Easy to Remove Unused Months

If you get the 18 month LifePlanner and later decide that the book is too bulky, you can easily rip out the months that you don't want to use.

Just keep in mind that the 18 month uses a slightly larger coil than the 12 month – so if you rip out the unused months – you may feel that the remainder of the book is a bit disproportionate to the coil.

BUT – in my opinion this is actually an advantage!

Bigger Coil

I love having a bigger coil on my LifePlanner because I tend to clip in notes and pages, use stickers and washi, and generally embellish my planner.

As the year progresses, my planner grows. It becomes thicker.

So additional space in the coil is much appreciated, especially if I rip a few months out.

Which Version Will You Choose?

I hope I've given you some food for thought as you make your decision as to which LifePlanner to buy.

My preference is the 18 month because the additional charge is nominal, it gives me greater flexibility in planning, it's easy to remove the months that I don't need, and I like having the bigger coil.

Tell me in the comments below whether you prefer the 12 or 18 month version.