How to Start Bullet Journaling For $0 | Easy Bullet Journal Spreads That Anyone Can Do

To be honest, when I first heard about bullet journaling, I was rather intimidated. I learned about it from a friend who is very artsy, so I thought that I had to be an artist to have my own bullet journal (bujo).

But when I finally started bullet journaling, I realized it doesn’t have to be complicated! I discovered that bullet journaling can be easy and practical.

I think sometimes people get put-off by elaborate bujo spreads, not realizing there is an easier (non-expensive!) way to operate a functional and beautiful bullet journal. In fact, you don’t need any artistic skills or fancy crafting things like washi tape or cute stickers to have an aesthetic bullet journal!

I scoured Pinterest for some inspiration in the way of bullet journal spreads that only use pens or sometimes markers. There are so many out there!

Today, I’m going to share weekly planners, monthly planners, monthly recap spreads, and some doodling cheat-sheets!

And, the wonderful thing about inspiration, is that you don’t have to copy it exactly. All you need is an idea that you can customize however you’d like! For myself, sometimes the hardest part of bullet journaling is coming up with an idea. If I have help with that, then the rest can kind of fall into place!

If you’d like even more bullet journal ideas, you can check out my bullet journaling ✨ Pinterest page that has 400 pictures saved! All of the pictures in this post are taken from Pinterest (:

Well, let’s get into it!

Weekly planners

With just a pen and a highlighter/marker, this is an easy-to-use weekly spread that doesn’t take much work!

This is a great way to have your week (or more) at a glance. I especially like the big “notes” part, since you can add goals, deadlines, and so on.

This one is so straightforward and simple! I love it!

This one is more detailed, so you can have a bigger-picture look at your week + where it fits into the month. (Unfortunately this photo is a little blurry, but you get the idea.) On the side, there could be notes, goals, projects, or anything else that is important to know going into a week!

This spread is far more detailed than any of the other ones, but it’s great for someone who is an excessive planner! (I am! 😝)

At first glance, this looks tricky, but it’s actually just writing the day of the week in cursive, then adding lines to the first and last letter. Those flowers might seem kind of hard, but that’s why the last section in this post is a little cheat-sheet for all sorts of doodles and designs!

Monthly Spreads

I like the weekly planners, but monthly planners are probably my favorite! While anyone can use the calendar feature on their phone or computer, there’s nothing like having it on paper and totally customizable.

With monthly spreads, you can list your goals for the month, deadlines, birthdays, events, and literally anything else you could want. You can make it as detailed and in-depth or simple as you’d like.

I’m especially looking forward to my September spread (I haven’t done it yet 🫣), since I’m planning a few exciting things for the month of September, one of which is an all-day autumn-themed writing retreat for myself! You’ll definitely get a blog post about it as soon as I’ve done it!

Another thing I appreciate about a new month, is that it gives me a chance to review the previous month! In this section, I’ll share some monthly recap spreads as well as monthly planners!

I like how this spread is color coordinated to make it more organized, and writing the events under the calendar as opposed to on the calendar helps it stay decluttered.

This is such a simple, cute way to get a quick glance at the month and what needs to happen.

The dashed lines here are really unique, adding a little something extra to this spread. I also like the leaves, since they add some color and fall vibes!

This page combines English and German! (No, I did not know that off the top of my head, my mom looked it up 😂) “Termine” means “appointments,” and “notizen,” means “notes.” The handlettering is really pretty and I like how there are even some work trackers!

Monthly recaps are so versatile, since it’s all about what you’ll want to remember. For me, I like to track my writing progress, most-listened to songs, best memories, monthly royalties from my book Rodney the Rooster, and whatever else I’m interested in for that particular month.

This monthly review is super straightforward and I love the simplicity of it! I did my August review a couple of days ago and I used this template, just adding a few tweaks.

The mushroom looks a little complicated to be honest 😂 But any little drawing could fit in there. Personally, I can’t see myself wanting to review every week as well as each month, but it’s still a really nice idea and this is a beautiful tracker!

Doodles, Designs, + Decor Cheat Sheets

I’ve oftentimes found myself wondering, how do other people effortlessly draw such beautiful things and I can barely make it look like a real flower no matter how hard I try? 😂

That, my friend, is where these little charts come in handy. These doodle cheat-sheets make things so much easier!

First things first, let start with some fall aesthetics. Those pumpkins and acorns are just adorable!

Little plants and flowers are some of my favorite ways to dress up a bujo spread.

More flowers 😄

Aren’t these lavenders so pretty?? 😍

I really like these borders! While these aren’t step-by-step, some of them look easy enough just to copy.

These separators are a cute way to take plain dividers to the next level. Just by adding curves, flowers, or dots, they look so much nicer!

Again, here are some more flowers! I think the top one is my favorite!

What do you think?

If this has encouraged you to start bullet journaling (or revisit your bujo), then I’d love to know! ✨ I made this post to show you that bullet journaling doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, but it can be practical, helpful, easy, and fun.

I found so many more pictures that I wanted to share, but simply couldn’t fit into one post. Year-at-a-glance planners, birthday trackers, habit trackers, password trackers, reading trackers… the list of possibilities is endless! If you would like a part 2 of this post, leave me a comment and let me know! This could totally become a series 😍