A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10

by - January 11, 2020
Are you looking to start bullet journaling? You probably can't justify pulling out your purse and handing over $30 or more for a new hobby. Especially if you think of all of the money you may have already paid for planning systems that were supposed to help you be 100% organized.

A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10


Side Note - This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy something from one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. For more information, you can read my privacy policy. Thank you for supporting my blog. :)

Updated for 2024 - The binding on this bullet journal broke in one spot so if you do buy it, be careful about how far you open it, how much stuff you add to the pages etc.


A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10

But you are in luck! I didn't want to have to buy an expensive bullet journal when I started either. When I started, I used a composition notebook with lined pages, which made it a lot harder for me to make layouts.

When you start, you will want to begin in a cheap book, because you won't know which layouts work for you or even if you like bullet journaling.

After a while, I gave it up, because it was too hard to make layouts in a book with lined pages which were rather thin as well.

Then I used my ring-bound planner for a combination of bullet journaling and planning. And now I just got this beautiful Minimalism Art Classic Dotted Notebook to use for my bullet journal collections!

A Good Quality Bullet Journal for Under $10

This is how mine came from Amazon and it was covered in plastic to keep it from being scratched or damaged which is always a plus. it is terrible to be super excited to receive a product and then have it be damaged when you get it.

I did not receive this product for free. All of the opinions in this post are my own. :)


Details About the Minimalism Art Classic Dotted Notebook

Hard Bound - The book is hardbound, which I love because it makes it super easy to carry around and it is not bulky at all. It may become bulky if you tend to add elements (such as washi tape or photos) to your bullet journal so keep this in mind.

Dotted Paper - The paper is dotted, and the dots are not to light or too dark. The dots won't stand out after you make your layout. They make it super easy to just turn the page and get right in without having to measure the page. It all depends on whether you like to sketch out your page or whether you want guidelines. If you look at my "Gratitude 365" layout below, then you can see that the dots are not noticeable.

100gsm Paper - Having smooth off-white 100gsm paper, makes it easy for you to use a lot of different pens on it. I find that if I blend Tombow Brush Pens, then it will bleed through, but other than that, so far, I have only experienced minor ghosting, which doesn't really bother me. The paper is really smooth, which I love. :)

Elastic Closure - If you are using your bullet journal to organize all areas of your life, then you won't want anything falling out or pages getting crumpled if you drop it so having an elastic closure is a lifesaver.

A Pocket - It comes with a pocket in the back, which I haven't tried out yet. I don't know if I will because I don't need it, but it is good to know about if you want a pocket to hold some stationery supplies in it.

192 Pages - The bullet journal comes with 192 dotted pages. It doesn't come with an index or any extra already made pages, but I wanted to make all of my own pages, so it was perfect for me. The pages are also not numbered, which might annoy some people, but I don't mind because I can number the pages whenever I create a new layout. Not having numbered pages is almost a plus for me because then I can leave pages that I don't want on the index unnumbered.

Bookmark Ribbon - One ribbon is included, which you can use to mark your most-used page or your monthly etc. The ribbon for my bullet journal was the same color as the rest of the journal.

Size - The size of the Minimalism Art Classic Dotted Notebook is 5 inches by 8 1/3 inches. I really like the size, which is bigger than the pages I could add to my ring-bound planner, so it is perfect to add collections to.

A Good Quality Bullet Journal for Under $10

At first, I thought the color was a little bit more like lilac than pink, but then I realized it was just the light I had it in. :)

I like the elastic closure and the ribbon bookmark, but I hope that the elastic closure doesn't get stretched out.

A Good Quality Bullet Journal for Under $10

This is the first thing you see when you open the cover of the book. It has lines for your name and address, but I chose to add my name and contact information instead. I added my blog URL too because there was enough room! 

On the other side, is the Minimalism Art Logo and plenty of space for you to add a bullet journal key, or a motivational quote. There are no dots on this page so anything you add you will have to measure.

As you can see, my bullet journal won't lay quite all the way flat yet, but I think as I use it more it will open up. When I am writing or drawing in it, I don't have a problem with it closing. :)

A Good Quality Bullet Journal for Under $10

When I turn the page with my information on it, the next page is my title page. The left side of this page has no dots on it, so it is the perfect page to add a quote to. My word for the year is "create" so I made sure that it was in my quote. You can see how I did goal setting for 2020 in my bullet journal here

If you are interested in recreating this page for your own bullet journal, the supplies I used are put below.

  • Tombow Dual Brush Tips - The Pastel Pack
  • Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens (I used the hard tip one)
  • Crayola Supertips - (I used the black one for the word

On the word "create" the ink bled through the page a little bit because I blended it. When this happens, I have been using my gel pen on the other side to cover some of it up. As long as you aren't using too much ink all over the page, you shouldn't have any problems with ink bleeding through.

A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10


My Overall Thoughts About the Minimalism Art Classic Dotted Notebook

I recommend this bullet journal to everyone whether you are new to bullet journaling, or even more advanced. The pages are smooth. The dots aren't too light or too dark. It has an elastic closure and a bookmark ribbon, and you can buy it for under $10!

If you are on a budget, then this might be a great option for you! I love how my layouts look in this journal and it doesn't bother me that the paper is slightly off-white either. :)

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What bullet journal notebook do you use? Do you use a Minimalism Art Classic Dotted Notebook? I would love to hear your thoughts!
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A Good Quality Bullet Journal for Under $10

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