Palmer’s Planners: Finances Made Simple

Today is a day that I thought I’d never thought I’d see. I’m linking to Etsy.com – a site known for it’s many knick-knacks. I’ve always viewed it as a way to spend money on stuff that I wouldn’t use. For example, as I write this article, this apple cozy is being highlighted on the Etsy home page. I’m may be a grade-A jerk but I don’t feel that my apples need to be kept cozy. I’m sorry if I insulted any apple lovers out there, but that’s just the way it is. Take the money you’d spend on comforting your fruit and put it towards retirement.

Sorry I got a little carried away there. This article isn’t supposed to be about apple cozies. Instead I want to introduce you to Palmer’s Planners – a set of financial planners from Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News and World Report’s Alpha Consumer. If you’ve read my review of her book, Generation Earn, you know that I’m a big fan. She comes from a prospective that is more like a blogger than a financial guru – that scores huge points with me. If you aren’t sure about the difference, watch an episode of the Suze Orman show. I find that show entertaining as well, but you don’t get to know the person, and that was one part of Palmer’s book that I really enjoyed.

Palmer’s Planners is a set of financial planners covering topics such as general money planning, getting out of debt, and preparing for a baby. I had a chance to look at a few, and here are couple of thoughts on a few of the products:

• The Money Planner – While all the planners work to supplement the aforementioned Generation Earn book, this is probably the best example of it. It doesn’t go into great depth in any one area of personal finance, but it hits the important parts of many different areas. For example there are a couple of pages on debt in this planner, but the Debt-Free Planner is completely dedicated to the topic. The advantage to this is high-level approach that you don’t get bogged down in any particular area of personal finance. You can find your weaknesses and then focus on them later.
• 2012 Money Planner – The 2012 Money Planner takes a calendar-based approach to your finances. For example, March is mostly about preparing your taxes while August is about going back to school. There are a few quarterly checklists and a year-end review also included.
• Baby Planner – I think saved the best for last. The spiral bound baby planner looks like the perfect gift for an expecting mother. What I especially like about it is that you can give it without looking like an uppity jerk. What do I mean by that? Well if you have a friend who might be in a tough financial spot giving a money planner to someone might come off as rude, but if the person were expecting a baby, the baby planner is a socially acceptable gift. The person might like the planner so much that they pick up the other money planners. (Note: There is a PDF version of this available as well if you just want the information without the pretty packaging.)

Finally, you can get The Money Planner, the 2012 Money Planner, and the Debt-Free planner, by getting the Complete Money Planner Kit. One note of caution… take note what you are ordering, because with “Money Planner” being the most prominent term in the title in three of the products, it can get somewhat confusing.

One thing that I like is that all the planners come in PDF form, so there is no waiting. You can print them… or you can read them on your computer or tablet. In my house, they’ll make their way to our $99 TouchPads quite quickly. The other thing that stands out is the artwork. While I’m the kind of person who just loves text (note the lack of images on most of my posts), the illustrations would likely appeal to my wife. That’s not to be overlooked. While I’m a personal finance nerd, I recognize that not everyone is and every little bit helps.

Personally, I’m going to give the 2012 Money Planner a spin next year. I’ll read through the Money Planner, but I think that it would be a case where, as a personal finance blogger, I do much of what is recommended in there anyway.

P.S. That lead-in paragraph was a half-lie. I have been secreting searching for a way to link to this outstanding Jayne Cobb hat for awhile now. I was serious about the apple cozy though. I can’t believe people would pay $17.50 for such nonsense.