Choosing a lesson planner that works

I have been in a planner bind (no pun intended) for a bit now.  Do I create my own or do I purchase one that is already done?

I have been scouring YouTube and several blogs to find some sort of answer to that.  I have watched tons of videos on a variety of teacher planners and came away with really liking the Erin Condren version.  I also have debated the cost of that and others issues it will have.

So I watched even more videos on how to make my own. Lots and lots of those.  It's not for the faint of heart.  It does take some time and planning -again no pun intended here.

I just don't know yet.  I can go either way actually.  It comes down to whether or not I am able to snag a planner during the EC sale or not.

So here are some of the pros and cons I came up with for each option.

Purchased Planner -Erin Condren

PROS:  

*Already created/bound and ready to go 

(say for minor adjustments on some pages)

*Better quality paper

*Nice, bright colors and designs

*Several cover choices and additional accessories

CONS:

*Can be expensive or more expensive than a DYI version-"can be"

*Not designed for our specific needs-esp because it is typical teacher planner that is not tailored to homeschooling

*Will require modifications to make it more usable-which can add to the price investment (stickers, etc.)

*Time will be involved (albiet not too much) to tweak out and modify this to make my own.

DYI Planner:

PROS:

*Should be cheaper to create than a pre-made version

*Set up to reflect my specific needs

*Created by me so you have more of an inclination to use it

*As colorful or scaled down as needed to meet my tastes

CONS:

*Can be very time consuming to pull together

*May not be able to find all pages I want or need

*May have to create pages and that is time consuming and somewhat difficult without the right design programs 

*May not be as colorful or jazzy as a pre-made version

*Figuring in the expense of laminating, binding, printing (ink) and paper could be almost as spendy as a commercial planner

*Requires research and downloading (either free or packages I pay for-so again, can be a bit more expensive than originally thought)

So for now-I have decided to download a bunch of different weekly schedule layouts to try out from Jan to March.  That way, if I do go with my own version, I will know which style I like and which ones best suits our needs.  I will also have that time to hunt down more options.  I can then see if I truly like my own DYI option or if I really just need to go with something already complete.

What I do know is I like color. I want to be drawn into it so, you know, I will actually continue using it.  I am also a bit of a paper snob!  I like good quality paper.  The EC has that. I have purchased a higher # paper to use (which is quite nice), but again-theirs is better.  SO I will definitely be needing to post an update.  

I have made a video talking about this very thing-and you can watch it on my YouTube channel by clicking this link. So for now, this is what I have to offer-hopefully, I can make a decision and stick to it soon.