What are "must haves" for my new planner?

I am pretty much in the same boat as you with not having a bunch of stuff to record. I got one because I just got a part time job that will have deadlines and reports that have to be made on time. I was at a crop with some other women who really love their planners. I ended up getting a Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner. The leather spoke to me. It is a binder and I loved that I can shift the months around and keep the current month on top so it is easy to find quickly. I got a package of pockets (for business receipts), a package of three dividers to find the most important spots quickly, and this planner offered a little notepad that has tear off sheets that you can keep on the top of everything so if you have a list of things that doesn't fit onto a specific week or day, you can manage those things on the top of your planner. The additional three things were about $10. I think the planner is gorgeous and simple on the outside and I don't need to put cute stuff on the inside. It would kill me to spend the $ just to toss it every year. The pages are really pretty and have some nice illustrations so it is still functionally cute. I have seen so many people make gorgeous planners, but I still scrap a lot and think I would rather put my energy into scrapping.

I use my planner as a diary/document every day things. I have a super quiet life filled with pets. No social engagement or work items.

Check out diamondcloudstudio on Instagram. Her planners are the perfect example of document your life.

These are the things that go in my planner- Washi Tape, stickers, die cuts, Project Life cards, paper ephemera that I find like greeting cards, magazine photos, etc...

Alphabet stickers are super popular but I make my own. You don't have to go out and buy all the cute supplies. You can make a lot of them. They are absolutely gorgeous. Look at Pinterest for planner supplies you can make.

I have a regular planner that is my personal diary. I also have a MetroPol Filofax that is my art journal. I don't buy a lot of extra supplies. I mainly buy stickers & washi tape. I like to make my own dividers, dashboards & all the other pretties.

I have 2 sets of the Frixion pens and they are as good as you said they are. They are the best pens in the history of pens. I have a huge set. I love them!

I have plenty of washi and I have planner stamps. I don't have tons but I do have quite a few. Love them!

I've heard a concern with the frixion pens is that the ink fades in heat (part of the whole "friction" as an eraser thing). That scared me away from those pens, though I love the idea of them. Has anyone who has used them for a while experienced this problem IRL?

One thing you need and if you just buy a planner somewhere and look inside and think "is that all there is?" is planner inserts. Those are the pages you decorate. I bought a Filofax a while ago and I hate the inserts. I really dislike them so much. I had to get new ones made because I just hate looking at them so much.

If you get a Kikki K planner they are pretty and colourful.

That's not to say Filofaxes aren't great planners. They have a huge cult following. They have their own Facebook fan groups, they have meet ups and discuss planning very intensively.

There are no STUPID RULES in planning. There is no acid free/lignin free bullshit. There is no guilting a person for buying this brand of planner or that brand or this embellishment or that one because it's out of style. There is no Hall of Flame (note pun) competitions with planning. She who has the most FUN wins. There is no "competitive" planning. There is no one planner "better" than another. There is no cheating, rules, or *anything* like that like we had in scrapbooking.

You need as *many* or *as few* planners as you want. They are your planners. If you want to share them with someone cool. If not that's fine, too.