MADE IN CHINA - MY FIRST SORT OF, KIND OF FILOFAX

She´s here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, unfortunately, it´s not a true filofax, but being caught between bankrupcy, desperation for organization and the lack of agendas with 6 rings where I live, I opted to buy through ALI EXPRESS.

The only problem with these orders, be it Ali or EBAY, is that OMG!!!!!!! They take an eternity to get here!!! I never thought it would take this long! But anyway, It´s finally here, and thank God for that, because I was almost giving up on this agenda world.

Almost a four month wait, and in my anxiety, I did something silly. I went on MERCADO LIVRE, the equivalent to a Brazilian EBAY, and found a planner on sale from plan ahead. Or so they said it was. I´d been looking for a long time, never found one, so I snatched it and had it delivered express.

 To my horror, it was black, which I absolutely HATE! But basically there was no other choice in sight, so what the heck.

Then, life being ironic as it is, on the day I got that delivery, I got another delivery with it. Guess what is was??

You got it! My planner from ali express!

So now I have 2 of them, but the black one I dislike so much, I´ll probably never use.

So this is China! And yes, I named her. If you think that´s weird, you know nothing about the planner world and how attached you end up being to these little bundle of appointments!

This is my beauty!

And to think I almost didn´t order it in pink. What was I thinking?! She´s absolutely gorgeous!

No package to show here because that was pretty plain and simple. Besides, I was so excited I just tore it open not even thinking about taking a pic.

Obviously, I adore pink, despite being too old for that according to some people (you know who you are).

This is the first page, dedicated to personal information. Of course the use is optional, but I intend to use it.

This is the yearly calendar for 2014. I wasn´t going to complain, but since it´s just between you, the entire internet and me, I´m gonna ask a question: don´t you think it should have come with a 2015 calendar as well?

Inside; lined paper. These are in a Day on 1 Page format I guess?

I find them pretty practical. You can use them as a diary, weekly event planner, shopping list, you name it!

This is the inside cover on the right side. You can put in 2 credit cards and the rectangle there is see through, so I think family pics are most definitely in order. There´s also this side pouch, or whatever you call it. I used it for bills to be paid already, but now I´m thing about putting some post its in there.









The other inside cover, on the left side, is pretty plain. There aren´t any pockets as filofaxes have or redfax, but the price was marvelous!

And it does come with a pen holder.

Behold my planner with FREE SHIPPING  and a price tag UNDER 20 DOLLARS!




the strap is HUGE! Which means you can really stuff this little thing, and the closing is with a metal lock of some sorts, so it´s pretty secure.

As soon as I got it, I thought the pages weren´t personal size. Yeah, I know I have a post all about page size, but silly me got confused and I was desperate when I mistakenly thought that.

Thank God I realized they were personal sized pages!

From then on, the transformation began.

As said before, the magic of these planners is allowing you to set up your own system. Inserts, tabs, dividers, pouches, the way you like it.

It´s your messing with it that´s gonna make it perfect!

Next post will be all about making my baby mine.

Hope to see you then!

Ps: the ali express link will take you straight to the seller of the agenda for those who are interested. They have a beautiful sky blue one too!

XOXOXOXO

FILOFAX IN BRAZIL!

So...a lot of people in Brazil have not yet heard of FILOFAX, or even an agenda/diary system with rings. I think that is SO NOT FAIR! It should be a system supported by the Government, free of cost, used not only to organize the internal aspects of Government itself, but also to help poor citizens like me who can´t even remember where the car keys are if their life depended on it. Just saying!

If you are one of those people who do not yet know the system, I´ll explain. Filofax is an English brand of diaries/planners/organizers which use an anular system of 6 rings and has become a global trademark.

Usually, when you think "global trademark", it translates into "EXPENSIVE", right? Sorry, I´m not gonna dissapoint you there, they are pretty expensive! But, I can bring you relief by telling you that these planners are the créme brulé of the planner world. Carefully made of real leather, they can be used through decades in a constant manner.

That means that the price you first saw as hefty is going to become nothing when you consider it´s something that lasts almost forever! In my calculations (please beware, I am an English teacher and chose the profession to get as far away from math as possible, but this time I think I may have invented the wheel!), it´s extremely worth it!

By the way, they come in many sizes and colors, from an itsy bitsy MINI, up to a wooping A5!

If you´re looking at this picture here on the left and thinking: "Why so many?!", you´re gonna have to buy you´re first to understand that there will never, ever, ever, ever be enough in your life!

It´s true, many people collect these little babies, and believe it or not, 99% of the time, they find use for ALL of them!

They can be used for personal finance control, business meeting, teaching binders, medical professional, teenage diaries (adult diaries too, for that matter), day to day control of your menus and grocery, you name it! The options are endless!

That´s what makes them so practical! Because they have rings and you use perfurated paper, you can buy your inserts, make your own according to your needs, or whatever. The sky is the limit! And this little baby will always be PERSONALIZED! <3<3<3

Well, Filo is English, but there are national offers here in Brazil to be considered. Here in Brazil, there is REDFAX, with HQ in São Paulo. It´s also made of leather, although from what I researched the structure seems to be on the stiffer side, but it does recieve ravaging reviews. In terms of price, it´s similar to most models of Filofax, but a bit on the cheaper side, considering you won´t be paying import taxes, and there is no way it can get lost on an international trip.

OH!!!! Of course, we can´t not talk about COLORS! If it´s colors you´re after, Filofax is UNBEATABLE! There are colors for those who are more business like, and others for people like me who can´t resist a neon (yes, neon, you can die now LOL).

In that aspect, REDFAX is a bit limited. Although they have a few options of color, they´re not that diverse. Here´s an example pic of them!

 What´s really cool about REDFAX is that the ring system is the same as the FILOFAX, 6 rings, and the space in between as well.

            

ONE HUUUUUGE MISTAKE that I found was REDFAX DOES NOT sell the 6 hole punch which we desperatly need! (OMG, right?). That leaves you with the soul option of buying one abroad (sorry!). I tried google for more then a day and could not find a single 6 hole punch available in Brazil! :(

Well, at least my search was not in vain. I found yet another Brazilian planner maker which has the same ring system as Filofax. So there! I can be very efficient! :)

My addicted friend started fearing me when she noticed that in less then 1 day I had gathered more information then she had in a month, plus started making inserts for a future Filofax of my own! LOL

Unfortunately, all I could do was dream about them at that moment, because I was so broke I was breaking my credit cards in half trying to avoid declaring bankrupcy (ok, so I am joking, but I was pretty broke).      

Anyhow, Carla thereby declared me a monster, but I´m a very happy monster in this beautiful world!

Back to the subject. MAIOFAX was the name of the planner. The main model of the brand is actually an exact "rip off" of one of filofaxes models (the one with the cross?). Of course the quality is not comparible, but the poor guys try.

Filofax is maleable, MAIOFAX is not.....like, at all. All you have to do is see one picture to see the thing looks like it has a cover made out of wood, but of course it depends on your taste, and if they´re in business, some people appreciate the trait (not me, though). Sorry, but I´m a Filo girl, and one day I too will have a big collection! LOL

Here she is! The MAIO! Is it just me, or does everyone get a stiff impression of them?

Another argument against them is the lack of color options, once again.

Oh! I almost forgot! At the end of the post, I´m going to add links to all of the brands I speak of here, so keep reading to the end to find them!






The last Brazilian brand I´m going to be speaking of today is TILIBRA (the T here is pronounced as CH in chile). They´re planner is not leather, it´s faux leather, and believe it or not, I know people who bought one for about 80 american dollars, which to me is a stick up. Although I do understand, because the options are slim and the offers even slimmer.

I think the TILIFAX comes in only 2 sizes, either PERSONAL and A4 or A5, not quite sure.to).

   

So, me figuratively bankrupt, was still in search of comething I could afford, but all the other I found were GRINGAS (that means foreign in Portuguese). There were some waaaaay cheaper then FILOFAX or REDFAX,  but I´d still have to import them.

Here are some of the names:

• Day Planner
• Day Timer
• Paper Chase
• YES (eu cheguei a apelar para pastas de 2 ou 4 furos comuns, depois eu conto).

There are others sold in department stores (and of course, if you´re a foreigner and from the filoworld and reading this, you´ll know), and places you would never imagine. For those who don´t know yet, some examples would be:

• target
• walmart
• goodwill
• salvation army

AND OTHERS! Of course it´s harder to get to those because you need to book a flight from Brazil to a foreign country, pay hotels, and then return, but hey, I´m so crazy I would have done it already if I had the cash ;)

Well, if you´re curious enough by now, I´m going to give you the links that I promissed (the ones to the stores, remember? YEY!!!!)

REDFAX

TILIBRA

MAIOFAX

FILOFAX

EBAY  (You can find any foreign planner, here. Take a look!)

Well, I tearfully bid you goodbye for now, and hopefully I´ll be seeing you again with my next post!