Serious question, have you ever bought a whole set of expensive pens for bullet journaling?

I saw a lot of people online using a specific brand of brush pens and decided I needed them too. I spent about $75 on a full set of 24 colors. The thing is, I almost never use them. My daily logging is all in black, and for the few times I want color, I just grab a basic highlighter. That money could have gone to a really nice notebook or something I'd actually use every day. It felt like I was buying the idea of a perfect journal, not the tools I needed. Has anyone else ended up with a drawer full of fancy supplies they never touch?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry4d ago

Read an article calling it the "aesthetic tax," where you pay for the look of a hobby more than the practice. My washi tape collection is the same, just rolls and rolls of it sitting in a box because my actual journal pages are too busy for borders. Do you ever feel pressured to make your tools look a certain way?

joelsanchez4d ago

My cousin bought a huge 48 pack of those artist grade markers last year. She showed me her bullet journal and every page was just black pen with maybe one blue underline. She admitted she got caught up in the videos where everything looks perfect and colorful. Now the markers sit in a cup on her desk and she feels bad every time she sees them. I get it, it's easy to buy the dream instead of what you'll really use. That stuff adds up fast.

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