REVIEW and COMPARISON: BusyBodyBook vs. MomAgenda

You already know how much I love BusyBodyBooks, but now I have been given a chance to compare it to another top mom planner called MomAgenda!  To make it easiest, I am going to give you a little run down on each planner then give you my thoughts.

BusyBodyBooks NEW Organizer – $17.95

Spiral-bound designed notebook with unique columns to keep up with more than one person’s schedule.  Facing page includes a to do list and notes area.

FEATURES:

• 2 Monthly Planners: One planner to record birthdays & anniversaries! Another to note next year’s appointments & future events.
• Full Page Months-at-a-glance too!:  Now full page months-at-a-glance will give you the big picture to plan for holidays, vacations, or special events.
• Key contact pages : 2 Pages for your emergency contact information, doctors, coaches, babysitters…
• Removable shopping lists: Perforated pages for creating handy grocery or gift lists.
• 2 Pockets: Inside front & back covers provide a deep pocket to hold important papers, receipts, coupons…
• Bookmark: Easily flip to the current week with this unique bookmark that grabs the spiral.
• Notes: A full page each week for notes, to do’s, lists, or alerts. Plenty of notes pages in back of BBB too to record and keep
  important information.
• Sturdy, clear plastic covers: Provide BBB’s beautiful covers with even more protection

MomAgenda Desktop DayPlanner – $43.00

Library-bound solid notebook with unique rows and columns to keep you and four children organized.  Two pages per week.

FEATURES:

• Unique week-at-a-view format with space for mom and up to four children. Features monthly views too.
• 17-month calendar runs from August 2010 through December 2011.
• Featuring the momEssentials pamphlet that can be removed and reused from year to year.
• 7 stylish, stain-resistant colors: Fuchsia, Zebra (New), Tangerine, Chocolate, Turquoise (New), Ruby (New), and True Purple .
• Personalization is available in two fonts: print or script. Choose from three colors: gold, silver or blind-emboss. Please note: Only letters may be used for personalization, no numbers. *Zebra books are embossed in gold; therefore, we recommend personalizing them with gold lettering.
• Size: 7″x9″x1″.

Mom Says:

Calendar Length: The MomAgenda has August 2010 through December 2011 meaning you only have to purchase it every 18 months!  On the other hand, the BusyBodyBook offers the calendar year version as well as the school year (Aug to Aug) version.  BBB wins this one because I prefer the option and at the price difference, you can buy 24 months of BBB for less than 18 months of MA.

Binding: With the BBB, you have to worry about pages ripping out of the spiral binding, but with the MA your book won’t fold back on itself.  The BBB wins this one because I prefer to be able to take up less space.  I like the spiral binding and I am on my 3rd BBB without a page ripping out of them.

Columns: The MA is sectioned into:  My schedule, kids’ schedule, and dinner plans.  BBB is simply sectioned into 5 columns that you can make what you need.  I find the BBB more versatile for what I need, BUT I don’t like having to write the names every single week.  MA wins this one for ease of use.

Misc Items in Planner:

The BBB includes:

• List of holidays
• 3 year calendar
• Year at a glance for Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Memorable Events
• 6 months at a glance for future planning
• Weekly to do list
• Notes section on each week
• Appointments and plans section for next year
• Notes section at the back of the book
• Tear out to dos
• 1 page for restaurant info and take out info
• 1 page for important people
• 2 pockets for keeping all those loose pieces (LOVE THIS!)

The MA includes:

• 2 full pages of favorite websites
• 1 full page of online resources
• 1 full page of toll-free numbers
• List of holidays
• 3 year calendar
• Month at a glance
• Future planning pages for next year
• A green section for you to keep notes on: books, movies, music, fashion, restaurants, wines, health, fitness, gift record, entertaining resources, parties, vacation ideas, vacation planning,
• A purple section of blank lined pages

I personally use my planner mostly for my blog, so I don’t need all the neat parts that the MA has, but if I were a work out of the house type of person that needed work, kids, school, life, etc all in one convenient place, the MA would be PERFECT!  So, for having the best “extras” MA wins this round.

Price:  BBB is $17.95 and the MA is $43.00.  BBB wins BY FAR for affordable pricing.

Page Marker: The MA has two ribbons that are connected to the binding and the BBB has a little tear-out piece of cardboard that connects to the spirals to keep track.  I hate the cardboard thing, so I use a post-it repositionable tab to keep my current spot.  I think the ribbons are MUCH better, you can put one in the current week and one in the current month and you don’t have to worry about them ripping.  Plus, since they are part of the binding you don’t have to worry about them falling off and being lost.  MA wins this one for the best page marker!

Cover/Look: The BBB has super cute designs in several colors and a hard plastic cover.  I like them and I like the choices.  The MA has a stain resistant cover that can be personalized and comes in a variety of colors. I think the MA looks much more professional, but really like the fun prints of the BBB.  So, it is a TIE for the Cover and Look of them.

BBB wins 3, MA wins 3, and they tied up         with the last one.

ROTFL!  Well, there you go.   Both are GREAT planners it just really depends on what you are needing it for and what your budget is.  My budget is pretty small, but even though I have both I am using the BBB.  It is my preference mainly because:

1. I don’t keep my kids schedules in my planner, they go on the main calendar that hangs in the kitchen.  I work from home so I don’t need that in my planner.
2. I don’t need a menu planner in my organizer because it goes on the fridge each week.  Again, I am at home so it isn’t as if I need to know what to pick up, etc.
3. I prefer a spiral bound notebook and like to be able to show one side at a time, taking up less room on my desk.

Yeah, this is a super long post.   Many have you have asked me what the difference is between the BusyBodyBook Organizer and the MomAgenda Desktop DayPlanner.  Since I had never seen the MomAgenda one I couldn’t answer that question.  I asked MomAgenda and they delivered.  Now we know.   I hope this post helps you decide which book you want.

*DISCLAIMER:  I was sent An Aug 10 – Aug 11 BusyBodyBook Organizer by BusyBodyBooks and an Aug 10 – Dec 11 MomAgenda Desktop DayPlanner by MomAgenda to help facilitate my review.  Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*