Bullet Journal On A Budget: The Best Cheap Bullet Journal Supplies

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Bullet Journal supplies don’t have to cost half your salary. Scroll through the BuJo community, and it’s easy to believe you need piles of pens, washi tape, and fancy notebooks before you can even start.

The truth? You really don’t. I’ve been Bullet Journaling since 2018, and some of my favorite spreads were made with the simplest tools.

In this post, I’m sharing the best cheap Bullet Journal supplies that actually work, from notebooks to pens, so you can start your BuJo on a budget without the guilt. Grab a coffee, and let’s find everything you need for less today!

A Bullet Journal is a fantastic productivity tool. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a student, or a small business owner, a Bullet Journal will help you stay organized, productive, and, most importantly, happy.

However, as often happens, many people have a limited budget for stationery and planners. The Bullet Journal is a perfect tool because you need almost no investment to start.

Below, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best cheap stationery for Bullet Journal, so you can choose what you want without crushing your bank account! I started with a lot of these myself, and I’m still using many of them even now, years into my BuJo journey.

But first, an easy key to follow:

$: Very cheap. You can buy it with pocket money. Maybe.
$$: A little bit more expensive, but still pretty reasonable and worth the investment.
$$$: Kind of pricey. Which you won’t find below, because duh.

And be sure to scroll to the end, because it includes a free guide to Bullet Journal supplies to help you find the things you’ll love and use.

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Notebooks

Of course, the most important thing is actually your notebook. You can Bullet Journal literally in any kind of notebook – lined, plain, dotted. That’s the beauty of the system.

Generally, however, the Bullet Journal community prefers dot-grid journals that range from $5 USD all the way up to $50-60 USD.

Here, I’ve gathered some budget-friendly journals that don’t compromise on quality.

Lemome A5 Dot Grid Journal $$

Lemome is a quality journal with a pretty slick design. It offers 190 pages of 120 GSM paper, an elastic band, and one ribbon. This is one of the highest paper densities among Bullet Journal notebooks, meaning it can handle more ink without ghosting or bleeding.

You won’t find any pre-made pages, and the pages aren’t numbered, but it’s a good-quality basic notebook worth your attention.

It doesn’t come in many designs, and if you want something more fun and colorful, you might want to look elsewhere, but as I’ll show you later, that’s not really a problem and is easy to fix.

Minimalism Art A5 Classic Notebook Journal $

One of Amazon’s top choices, this notebook is a great choice for Bullet Journaling on a budget, since it comes at half the price of other popular notebooks like Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, for example.

There are 192 pages of 100 GSM paper, an elastic band, and a ribbon – all the basics you need for your Bullet Journal notebook.

It also comes in 7 colors, so you can pick the one you like most!

Poluma Bullet Journal $

Smooth faux leather cover, 128 pages of 120 GSM paper in light ivory color – Poluma notebook is definitely one of the best in its price range.

Like all the other notebooks in this list, pages aren’t numbered, and you’ll have to create your own key and index and such, but isn’t it a fun way to start your BuJo?

It’s a fantastic notebook to start your BuJo adventures and join the 1.5k+ people who already enjoy using Poluma Bullet Journal.

Is your budget even smaller? I’ve heard a lot of good things about notebooks from Walmart or Macey’s, so go check those out.

Possible Notebook Problems

Buying a more affordable notebook means you might run into minor issues. I’m not saying this will happen to you, but in my experience, it’s possible.

Don’t worry, though; I’m here to help you out if something actually happens. Let’s go through what can go wrong and how you can deal with it.

Binding Is Broken

This is what happened to my first journal; at one point, the binding just broke! But don’t worry, there are ways to deal with it:

• Washi tape. Just use washi tape to hold the binding together and hide the tear on this page. It actually looks kind of cute!
• Glue. If you haven’t done anything on this page yet, maybe just glue the binding to the two pages.

No Ribbon

The notebooks I mentioned all have ribbons. If you get any other notebook, you might miss one, which makes it harder to find information. Here are the solutions:

• Washi tape. Yes, this solves most of the problems in my BuJo because washi tape is the duct tape of Bullet Journalists. With washi tape, you can create dividers or fun, decorated paper clips. Just add them to your current page to find it easily.

• Binder clips. Put some of your pages in a binder clip, and it’ll be easy to open the page you’re looking for.
• Bookmark. The good ol’ way for books will work for your notebook as well. There are so many designs available; you can find one that adds personality to your journal. Or make a cute one yourself!

Elastic Band Is Broken

If the elastic band isn’t sturdy enough, it can break over time with use. There are, of course, many ways you can deal with such a problem:

• Fix it. You can fix your elastic band or even add it to a journal without one. Check out the video of how to add one below (or this easier method) and a blog post on how to fix it. 

• Use another elastic band. You can simply just get a piece of elastic, sew it, and put it around your journal. Or you can buy a new elastic band, especially for planners. These are amazing; they come with a pencil case, pen loop, and even a cellphone holder.
• Use a cover. You can always just get a cover for your journal or make your own. 

The Journal Is Ugly

It can happen – the journal is great, but the cover is just killing you. Here are a few things you can do to have your cake and eat it too (I’ve been itching to use this expression, and I thought it fit here):

• Washi tape. Find some adorable washi tape and stick it all over your journal cover! This will create a cute pattern, unique to your journal. If you want it to be less noticeable, add a piece of paper to the inside of the cover so nobody can see the ends of the washi tape.
• Scrapbooking / Wrapping paper. It’s that easy: use the paper you like and wrap your journal cover in it, so it’s pretty and just the way you like it! Check out this little tutorial if you want to try it. 

• DIY journal cover. Creating a journal cover can actually be pretty fun and simple. Or at least simpler than I expected. Check out the video below for some ideas and step-by-step instructions. 

Now, hopefully you’ve got your journal exactly the way you want it, and we can move on to our list of other fun stationery supplies.

Black Pens

Black fineliner pens are the basis of any Bullet Journal, if you ask me. They are what help you create those sleek black lines in your tables and doodles.

I tried quite a few fineliners, and among my favorites is Sakura Pigma Micron. I heard a lot from different Bullet Journalists that the best fineliner they ever tried was Faber Castell Pitt Artists Pen.

However, all these are on the expensive side. Don’t worry, though; there are great fineliner pens in a lower price range, too!

Staedtler Pigment Liner $$

From a well-known, high-quality brand, the 6-pack prices each pen at around $1.60 USD.

The wide range of nib sizes lets you add a lot of detail to your drawings and doodles.

UniPin Drawing Pen $$

This is my favorite pen right now, and it’s pretty reasonably priced.

The pens are very stable and last for a long time, even if you put your whole body weight on them every time you use them (or is it just me who does that? Disclaimer: Don’t actually put your whole body weight on pens)

Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner $

This pack includes 10 pens for a good price. And these are good, solid fineliner pens.

However, Stabilo pens in the set come in only one size.

If you want pens for writing, these will be great. But if you’re looking for a variety to use different thicknesses in your drawings, these pens aren’t for you.

Colored Pens

Colored pens aren’t what I call a must-have, but they are pretty useful. You can use them to doodle, highlight something important, letter, or just make your headers stand out.

In case you want to invest more in them, I could recommend my favorites: Sakura Pigma Micron, Zebra Sarasa, and Staedtler. For more options, check out some of the amazing pens below.

Stabilo Point 88 $$

Amazon’s choice and my heartfelt recommendation since I have this set myself and enjoy it immensely. These pens are a timeless classic, and you’ll definitely enjoy playing around with all those colors.

Planner Fineliner Pens $

These pens are the #1 best seller on Amazon and are loved by the Bullet Journal community, with a 4.8 rating from almost 2.5k happy buyers.

The pack includes 18 pens, so you’ll have a full basic color palette to play with.

Markers

Another way to add color to your Bullet Journal is with markers, and it’s my favorite because they cover more paper and are perfect for coloring doodles.

Stabilo Pen 68 $$

Stabilo always produces quality, affordable stationery.

I love everything they do, and their beautiful, bright colors.

Crayola Ultra Clean Fine Line Markers $

Crayola is always a good brand with high-quality, affordable stationery.

If you’re looking for fine-tip markers – these are your top choice! The pack of ten colors has all you need to create the most stunning Bullet Journal spreads.

Sunshilor Metallic Markers $

Coming in sets of 12 or 15, these markers are a great budget option.

Plus, since they are metallic, they look absolutely gorgeous on black paper.

Brush Pens

The popularity of lettering art has created so many different brands and types of brush pens that everyone can find something fitting their style and budget.

Some of the best and my favorite ones on the market are, of course, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Sakura Koi Brush Pens, and the newly released Zebra Mildliner Brush Pens. If you’re thinking of investing in some high-end brush pens, take a look at these.

However, at this stage, you can get great brush pens for a much, much lower price, with pretty high quality nonetheless. Check out these options below.

Ohuhu Dual Tip Brush Markers $

These beauties can be a great alternative to Tombow Dual Brush Pens since they also have a double tip.

With a color set of 60 pens, you end up paying less than a dollar per pen, which is as budget as it can get.

Tanmit Dual Tip Brush Marker Pens $

Another set of dual-tip brush pens that seems pretty popular with Amazon buyers.

The 36-color set will be a great help with calligraphy, coloring, and all other Bullet Journal things.

Crayola Super Tips $

Definitely my favorite budget alternative to brush pens: these lovelies by Crayola. Even though they aren’t exactly brush pens, due to their nib, you can still create calligraphy with them.

It’s an established, trusted brand, and I personally recommend them; I use them myself and love the colors!

Speaking of colors, this set has 50 of them, so you’ll never get bored.

Tombow Fudenosuke $$

If you can only buy one brush pen, I recommend you get this one.

Yes, it’s black and not a colorful set, but this pen has so many uses and is so worth it!

You can use it for brush lettering, creating headers on your spreads, and, of course, doodling.

Other Materials

There are, of course, other stationery supplies you can use in your Bullet Journal, so here are some budget alternatives for those.

Highlighters – Stabilo Boss

My choice of highlighters is always Zebra Mildliners, but Stabilo Boss is a close second, especially since I discovered they have a pastel set as well as the usual bright-colored one.

Pencils – Arteza Colored Pencils

These wonderful, colorful pencils are easy to use.

You can create some amazing color designs in your Bullet Journal without ever being afraid of bleeding, ghosting, or damaging your notebook in any other way.

Watercolor – Prang

Amazon’s choice, this watercolor will provide you with the basic palette to play around with and create art in your Bullet Journal without ever breaking your bank.

Possible Pen Problems

The most common problems with pens and other materials in your Bullet Journal are ghosting or bleeding. This can be due to the pens or the notebook.

The first thing you should do is to check the density of your paper, or if you’re just looking for a notebook, look for the one with a higher GSM. The average good one would be around 100-120 GSM.

The second thing to do is a pen test. Never ever ever use a pen in your journal before testing it – it might completely ruin the page you’ve been working on so hard. I always do a pen test on the last page of my journal.

A little warning about the pens and brush pens – watercolors and watercolor-based brush pens are usually slightly more damaging to the paper, so be wary.

Anyways, if something did happen to your page and you had some ghosting you hate, or even a bleed, though – check my post with creative ideas on How to Deal With Bullet Journal Mistakes. You can use the same techniques to hide any possible pen issues.

Miscellaneous Supplies

These are some things that you don’t really need to have, but they are very useful in Bullet Journal setups and might help you a lot. If you have a few extra dollars, check out some of these items.

Circle Maker

This tool is affordable and helps you create lots of fantastic designs, from little bubbles to circle trackers and future logs.

Stencils

Stencils are a great help when you need a quick setup and don’t want to measure things or spend a lot of time doodling precise details.

There are stencils for everything in Amazon – lettering, icons. Whatever you need, you can use stencils to help you out. Plus, generally, they are very affordable.

Westcott Technical Drawing Template

I absolutely love this one because it helps keep my Bullet Journal looking neat!

I love that it includes all the basic shapes, and I use it a lot for my task list to keep the boxes and circles crisp and clean.

Washi Tape

You might not even realize it, but washi tape can solve most of Bullet Journal-related problems! (Again, it’s the duct tape of BuJo!)

Washi tape is definitely more than just decor, and I’m sure you’ll find it super useful in your journal, too. Whatever your journaling style is, you’ll always be able to find a washi tape design befitting your BuJo.

Thankfully, washi tapes are also super affordable, and these little beauties are, too.

I hope this gave you enough options and clarified that you can start Bullet Journaling even on a tight budget.

Free Stationery Guide

No matter your budget, there are so many options out there it’s easy to get overwhelmed and end up overspending on things you won’t like and won’t use.

That’s why I’ve created this stationery guide to help you choose the best supplies for your journal.

Sign up in the form below, and once you confirm your subscription, the Ultimate Guide To Bullet Journal Supplies will be headed straight to your inbox.

What are some of your favorite budget stationery finds for your Bullet Journal? Share with us in the comments!

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