Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner – 6 Ways It Can Help You + Detailed Review

6 Ways the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner can help you save money, earn money and achieve your financial goals. Plus comprehensive review and pros and cons. Get more info about the Passionate Penny Pincher planner and menu plans here.

Note: I received these products for free for review consideration. Opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links or referral links. Purchases from these links provides a small commission or discounts towards future purchases to me at no extra cost to you. Refer to my Full Privacy Policy and Disclaimers here.

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner Review

We will start off with the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner review and then talk about the ways it can help you so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you. This review covers the undated physical money planner as of 11/9/22.

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner Best Features

Here are the best features of the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner that make it unique and a great value:

Detailed Financial Planning Pages

At the beginning of the planner, there are several detailed financial planning pages. If you haven’t done a budget before, these pages really help you get an overview of your finances, and makes you think through setting your financial goals and planning for savings and expenses. These pages include:

Long Term Financial Goals & Savings Planning

Set 2 one year and 2 five year financial goals and action steps to break them down and make progress until it’s done.

Set a savings goal, what you’re saving for, how much and a deadline. Write in deposits (up to 18) you make towards that goal until complete. Room for 4 savings goals. You could use these for sinking funds. Print up additional pages and tape

Net Worth Worksheets

Net worth statements to list out your assets and liabilities at your starting point and ending point so you can see your growth/change in financial position.

Bill Payment Schedule

A checklist so you can mark off when your recurring bills are due, the amount and when it’s paid so nothing falls through the cracks.

Bill Schedule at a Glance

A bill schedule showing your monthly calendar so you can write in when your typical bills are due. Space on the side to mark quarterly and annual bills too so you can prepare and know when those one time bills are coming.

Annual Budget Overview

The title says “budget overview” but really I think it’s better to call it an “expense overview”. The instructions do indicate to total the expenses from the monthly budget worksheets and put them in here so you can have a glimpse of how much money came in and went out each month.

Savings Account Tracker

Save a portion of your income each month to fund savings for big one time expenses that come up during the year, like emergency fund, car repair, HOA fees, gifts, etc. If you’re familiar with sinking funds, I think this serves as a sinking fund tracker so you can track how much money is saved for each item so it’s there when/if you need to spend it.

Others not pictured:

• Debt Reduction Plan
• Grocery Budget Expenses
• Bank Account Info
• Credit Card Info
• Subscription Info
• Password Organizer
• In Case of Emergency

Disclaimer: I think it’s important to go through the exercise of documenting what bank accounts, subscriptions and credit cards you have. I do not recommend, however, filling out the bank account #, username and password on the paper worksheets. If lost, someone could easily get into your accounts. I think storing that info should be done electronically so you can password protect the info.

Monthly Financial Challenges and Overview

I absolutely love the monthly overview pages in the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner. The instructions on this page tells you to “set aside a few minutes to plan what you’d like your money to do for you this month.”

Isn’t that the way budgeting should be…making your money work FOR you?! You don’t have to be chained to a budget, it can be very liberating to make sure once you basic necessities are covered that you spend/save the rest for what is important to achieve the life YOU want. You make your own rules for your life.

The overview includes the financial checklists (in the section below) and the right half of the first page has some standard questions to make you think about your biggest financial goal, who will benefit and what you’re most excited about.

The second page of the overview is also the same each month with 3 more standard questions: what can you sell/work can you do for extra cash, returns and rebates, easy meals for the month. I think they are all small, simple things that can add up to extra income/savings.

The monthly overview also has a financial task you can do or focus on. The table of contents shows you the different tasks like start a family budget meeting, prepare your emergency fund, and try a no spend challenge.

Because the planner is undated, you could do them in any order you need. Like right now my goal is to declutter, and wouldn’t it be nice to get some extra cash from it? So I’m going to work on the month 8 challenge to “Get Paid to Declutter”

Money Checklists

The left half of the first page of the monthly overview (pictured above) in the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner has checklists for:

• beginning of the month,
• beginning of the week
• daily

so that you keep your financial goals front and center and it’s a simple checklist to follow step by step so you don’t get overwhelmed. Do the best you can to check off all the items if finances is a big priority for you. But because the list is there, you can start and stop it whenever you make the time to work on your finances and you know just where you need to pick right up.

I am a total checklist lover and it gives me great satisfaction to check items off a list. Especially when I’m overwhelmed when I don’t quite hit a goal or get a task complete, the checkmarks for what I did do helps me see what progress I made so I can celebrate progress, and not perfection.

Having the checklists done for you is huge. If you’re a checklist lover too, then you’ll also love her Passionate Penny Pincher Home Planner. This planner totally changed the atmosphere in our home and helped me build cleaning and home routines that work best for our family in this season of life.

Monthly Review

Reflection questions to answer so you can celebrate your biggest money win, and learn from what did not go well. Here’s what the questions cover:

• biggest money win
• what did you waste money on
• what could you have done better with your money
• what worked – what would you do again
• what change did you make that will last
• who was impacted because you chose to spend your money wisely
• biggest financial goal for next month

I think its super important to review and reflect on your goals periodically and I think these are well thought out and helpful questions to help you on your financial journey. Small wins count too, they all add up, especially when it comes to your money.

Categorized Daily Spending Tracker

I think the 2 categorized daily spending tracker pages in the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner are unique because they have columns for:

• yellow columns for cash source used: cash, credit, or debit
• red columns for need vs want
• blue columns for expense type: clothing, dining, fun, car, grocery, personal and misc.

I think this makes categorizing your expenses super easy. I do wish there was some space at the bottom of the category sections so you could total the amount and then easily transfer that to you monthly budget page.

I also wish there were 2 more daily spending pages. There are 28 transactions per page but I have a feeling I would run out of space.

Overall, I think these are great pages to help you realize where most of your spending is done (cash, credit, debit), whether it’s really a need or a want and what you’re spending on. Having to physically check off a column in each of the colored sections makes you think through each transaction and it’s impact on your budget and financial goals.

All the Extras Included with the Physical Planner!

This Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner really is an awesome value because of all the extras that the physical planner includes including:

• 2 pages of functional and fun stickers
• 10 poly reusable cash envelopes that are super sturdy
• 2023 money planner pdf version
• Budgeting workshop replay
• Facebook community access to share and collaborate ideas

I especially love that pdf version of the money planner. That way you can test things out or print up extra pages or use for digital planning so it’s always on your phone! There aren’t too many planner companies that give you the pdf version free when you purchase the physical version. In fact, of all the planner reviews I’ve done, Passionate Penny Pincher is the only one to do this.

The pdf version of the money planner is sold separately also for a fraction of the cost.

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner Pros and Cons

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner Pros

• comprehensive financial planning section to help walk you through step by step through setting goals and getting a handle on your finances
• monthly, weekly, daily financial checklists are well thought out and done for you so all you have to do is follow along (great for beginner budgeters or people who are overwhelmed and need it broken down step by step)
• well thought out and thorough monthly planning and reflection pages help you find the big and small ways you can improve your financial situation. Small wins lead to progress, every dollar counts!
• monthly financial challenges to make your finances a priority and tackle one thing to save more or earn more money
• categorized daily spending ledger makes you think through each transaction – what expense category and whether it’s a need or a want is very impactful
• functional and hand drawn stickers included to bring attention to and reward yourself for a job well done
• cash envelopes and pdf version of the planner comes with the purchase of the physical money planner (pdf version of the money planner is available for separate purchase too)
• undated so you can choose the monthly challenge you want to complete and start anytime
• thick, high quality paper should stand up well to gel pens
• sturdy cover
• lovely neutral colors

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner cons

• white text on blue banners and some pages have small black font which can be hard to read if you are visually impaired
• no account balance trackers in the monthly sections to keep track of checking and credit card balances
• no weekly, biweekly or paycheck budget worksheets if that’s how you budget. there are only monthly budgeting worksheets and daily spending trackers
• in general, wire-O binding is not my favorite. sometimes the binding can bend or the back cover slips out of the binding with continued use.

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner coupon code

The Passionate Penny Pincher Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale is starting early so this week is a great time to snag the money planner, home planner and done for you menu plans (like the Celebrations menu plan to have done for you holiday meals!). I use and love them all! In addition, there is free shipping on orders of $50 or more!

Black Friday Sale

November 11th-20th

Coupon Codes:

$10 off $50 – coupon TURKEY $25 off $100 – coupon THANKS $50 off $200 – coupon GIVING

Shop Passionate Penny Pincher here

Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner printables

The Passionate Penny Pincher money planner is available as a PDF version that you can print or use digitally with an app like Goodnotes or Noteability. The planner is designed to be printed on 8.5” x 11” printing and in the same color as the physical planner. You still get access to the replay of the Budgeting Workshop, Facebook community access and other fun exclusive bonuses in 2023.

Great deal! you can buy the digital downloads bundle and get the home planner pdf, money planner pdf, academic planner pdf, editable checklists for home and kids chore charts AND 8 menu plan pdfs (that’s 90 weeks worth of meals)!!! Get $30 off the bundle with my coupon code TANYA until 11/12/22!

6 Ways the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner Can Help You Save More and Earn More Money

These are the 6 ways the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner can help you achieve your financial goals and get a handle on your finances without getting too overwhelmed.

1. Think through and set your long term financial goals

Use the Long Term Financial Goals page to set one year and five year goals and the specific steps you need to take to achieve them. Don’t worry the monthly overviews will remind you to check in with these goals monthly so you make sure to check off each step as its completed.

2. Get the big picture on your finances of where you are right now

If you feel lost or overwhelmed or keep procrastinating when it comes to your finances, the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner will help you step by step so you can find your starting point and the big picture of where your finances stand. Use the following worksheets to understand better where your money comes from and where it’s going:

• savings planning
• net worth
• bill schedule at a glance
• debt reduction plan
• bank account info
• credit card account info
• subscription info
• in case of emergency

Disclaimer: I think it’s important to go through the exercise of documenting what bank accounts, subscriptions and credit cards you have. I do not recommend, however, filling out the bank account #, username and password on the paper worksheets. If lost, someone could easily get into your accounts. I think storing that info should be done electronically so you can password protect the info.

3. Get into a financial routine without getting overwhelmed

One of my favorite things about this budget planner is that it’s so very well thought out and the hard part is done for you because chances are there’s a checklist for it you can just follow. The monthly overview checklists tell you what to do at the beginning of the month, the beginning of the week and daily (i do wish there was a section for end of the month, to remind you to update the trackers and monthly review)

The point is to just start. Once you purchase the physical planner, you get immediate access to the pdf version too so you can start using it right away.

4. Stay on track with your spending, budget, savings and debt

The PPP money planner has lots of trackers to help you see your progress at a glance, including:

• savings planning
• debt reduction plan
• annual budget overview
• savings account ledger
• grocery budget expenses

5. Kick budgeting up a notch with monthly tips/challenges

A monthly tip/challenge to tackle a financial task to save more or earn more. Such as:

• start a family budget meeting
• prepare your emergency fund
• no spend challenge
• change your prescription bills
• save on subscriptions
• get paid to declutter

6. Reflect on what works and what doesn’t so you can make your money work FOR you

Monthly review reflection pages help you think through your wins, what worked, what didn’t so you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t on your financial journey.

Where Can I Buy the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner?

An older version of the Passionate Penny Pincher money planner is available still on Amazon. However, it’s different than the version I have outlined for you here. The money planner shown in this post is only available currently on the Passionate Penny Pincher shop site.

Favorite Accessories to Make Budgeting Fun

I really like the stickers the PPP money planner comes with and there is lots of color already on the pages so I am highlighting my favorite accessories to use to make budgeting fun

• Adorable Smiley and Winking Face Binder Clips
• We R Memory Keepers Planner Punch Board so you can punch your own pages to add to a wire bound, coiled or discbound planners
• Large button calculator – i’m always partial to light blue but also available in pink, black, green and cream
• Uniball jetstream 5 in one – pens in 4 colors: red, blue, black and green plus mechanical pencil. I like to mark expense budget overages in red and coming in under budget in green. And I like pencil or eraseable pens when i’m doing finances.
• Pilot Frixion eraseable colored pens and highlighters – these eraseable pens and eraseable highlighters are great when budgeting because it’s very easy to erase when you make a mistake. Beware though, don’t leave the planner in heat (like in a parked car in the summer) or the ink will disappear! I normally leave my planner at home so this is a good option.

PPP Money Planner Alternatives

Here are some good alternatives to the Passionate Penny Pincher money planner you might like if this one isn’t quite right for your needs:

• Erin Condren Budget Book – compact and easy to travel with. See more on the petite planner system here.
• Clever Fox Budget Planner and Bill Organizer (use code MSV10 for 10% off) – spiral with monthly folders to hold bills and receipts
• All Clever Fox Budget Planners (use code MSV10 for 10% off) – includes book bound or cash envelopes only
• Budget by Paycheck workbook

Well, there you have it. A complete review of the Passionate Penny Pincher money planner and the 6 ways it can help you save more, earn more and make your money work for you. I truly believe this money planner is a lot of bang for your buck and can truly make an impact in knowing exactly where your money is going, building a financial routine that works for you and making progress towards your financial goals through small steps.