On the Go Planner Review

The Home Educating Family Association offers a great variety of planners. Although I was unable to attend The Declare Conference this year due to being ill, one of my friends sent my swag bag to me. In it, I received an On the Go Planner from HEDUA, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time! I try to do everything electronically, but there is just something about having everything on paper right in front of you that just helps out tremendously sometimes – like right when you’re in the midst of a move!
The On the Go Planner is their purse sized planner that is an organizer, day planner, and home management system in one. It’s designed for busy ladies like myself who are often on the go! Despite being “purse sized,” it is still full of MANY resources! It contains over 200 pages with beautiful designs and colors.
The very beginning of the planner begins with a page to write down goals, which I love! It also has Jonathan Edwards’ 70 Resolutions. It’s an amazing read, and we are encouraged to read one per week. I admit, I may have read more than one a week because I really think they are wonderful! I love how he introduces them by acknowledging he can’t do them without God’s help. I know I can’t either!
Then there is an area to help with home management such as homemaking projects and a daily cleaning schedule. Since we are not yet completely unpacked I haven’t yet set this schedule, but this is definitely a feature I love. I always think it is important to have a daily cleaning schedule particularly when you have children because things can get messy quickly!

The On the Go Planner also includes a community Greeting Card Registry as well as 4 pages for “Staying in Touch,” which is where you can write down all the contact information for your friends and family. I have yet to do this, but yesterday I wish I had because I needed some email addresses in a pinch, and it was hard to pull them up on my phone with such a time restriction!

Then you can write down your plans for the year and any additional notes. I really like that it has this yearly option up front so you can write out the “big picture” ideas, goals, plans, etc. instead of just having the monthly goals. I think it is important to have both.
Each month then is broken down into a few important sections. The first section is the Monthly Record for Money Management. This area includes monthly income and expenses. It allows for 2 additional sources of income (in addition to salary), covers all the basic expenses and allows six more spaces to write additional expenses. There are 3 columns for “Budget,” “Actual,” and “Difference.” This is a great way to stay on budget and see how well we are doing with money management! The next page even allows for more details so I can write notes about the expenses.
(I am using blank pages for reference for my pictures for privacy reasons, of course.)

Then the month is broken down by days. This is such a great feature for me because I like to make a lot of notes. Just a basic monthly calendar doesn’t allow that type of flexibility. So not only does it break the month down by days, but at the bottom it also has a place for notes for “Household Projects,” “Purchases to Make,” “Events Reminders,” “Birthdays & Anniversaries,” and “Bills to Pay.” I love that last one because it seems like something obvious we should remember yet my husband and I both have to look at bill due dates often. I love having them right in front of me! There is additional space for notes, and a faith-based quote.

Then, there is a month-at-glance page, so you do have a full month calendar in front of you. I write important appointments on the month calendar that aren’t flexible so when I am scheduling a doctor appointment or something else that is important I know what days/times I absolutely can’t make the appointment. I also love that the month calendar has a Bible verse on each day. It doesn’t have the full verse written out, but rather suggest a verse to read like 2 Cor 15-16. This is a great way to have organized Bible time with the family!

With the holidays coming up, who wouldn’t benefit from a little more organization? The On the Go Planner has 5 pages of Holiday Organization! It includes Christmas Cards, Activities, Online Shopping, and Gift Giving! I haven’t sent out Christmas cards for the past couple of years because I had trouble with organization, but I won’t this year!

Can you believe all of that is in their “purse sized” planner? I was so surprised! This little planner packs a big punch! It covers a little bit of everything! I am so glad I decided to give a physical planner a try again because I love having all of this information in one place!
The Home Educating Family Association also offers a variety of other planners like the Well Planned Day Family Homeschool Planner as well as a variety of Student Planners.

For More Information:

Visit the Home Educating Family Association Website
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*Giveaway!!* {ended 11/6/13} For more chances to win great prizes check out our current giveaways.

Would you like to win one of these great planners from HEDUA? One lucky reader will win the On the Go Planner! This giveaway will run from October 23, 2013 through November 6, 2013 at 11:00pm Central Time. It is open to US residents ages 18+. All entries are optional, but completing more entries may increase your chances to win! Please refer to the full terms and conditions in the Giveaway Tools.