The notebook
Guides for whoever ended up organising it
Practical guides on planning a gathering with a committee: budgets, timelines, guest lists, and collecting money without one person carrying it.
No. 01 · August 3, 2026 · 10 min read
How to collect money for a class reunion (without the group-chat chaos)
A step-by-step guide to collecting reunion money: pricing the ticket, the real fee math, chasing payments, and deciding who can spend it.
No. 02 · August 3, 2026 · 10 min read
Who should hold the money for a group event?
Someone always ends up holding everyone's money. Why that job is worse than it looks, and the four rules that protect the person doing it.
No. 03 · August 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Class reunion planning timeline: a 12-month guide
A month-by-month class reunion timeline: finding classmates, venue deposits, ticket math, and the deadlines that decide whether the event happens.
No. 04 · August 3, 2026 · 12 min read
The complete family reunion planning checklist
A 12-month family reunion checklist with real budgets, per-person costs, deposit deadlines, and the money decisions most committees make too late.
No. 05 · August 3, 2026 · 10 min read
Team offsite planning: the budget conversation nobody wants to have
Real per-head offsite numbers, the hidden costs that blow the budget, and how to stop one person floating $6,000 on a personal card.
No. 06 · August 3, 2026 · 10 min read
How to split wedding shower and bachelorette costs without resentment
Real bridesmaid cost ranges, the budget-first order of operations, and scripts for the money conversation nobody in the group chat wants to start.
No. 07 · August 5, 2026 · 6 min read
A reunion planning app, or a spreadsheet? Here is where the spreadsheet breaks.
Most reunions start in a spreadsheet and a group chat, and that is correct. Here are the four points where that setup breaks, and how to tell if yours has.
No. 08 · August 5, 2026 · 7 min read
The best way to collect money from a group depends on one question
Venmo, Splitwise, ticketing platforms, cash, or a purpose-built tool? An honest comparison of how each handles group money, and where each one fails.
No. 09 · August 5, 2026 · 6 min read
Forty people said yes. Twelve meant it.
Forty people say yes and twelve mean it. How to turn enthusiasm into a number you can hand a caterer, and what to do when ticket sales fall short.
No. 10 · August 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Splitwise is very good at the job it does. It is not the job a reunion needs.
Splitwise splits costs after they're spent. If you need to collect money before a deposit is due, that's a different job. Here's the honest comparison.
No. 11 · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Evite invites people. It doesn't collect the money.
Evite sends a good invitation. It does not collect money. If your event has a cost per head, here's what that gap actually costs you.
No. 12 · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Cheddar Up collects the money. Then you still have an event to run.
Cheddar Up collects group money well. It doesn't run the event around it: no RSVPs, no committee, no approval before funds move. Here's the comparison.
No. 13 · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Reunly vs Plan Our Reunion
Both are built for reunions. Reunly is one-organizer ticketing at a one-time price; Plan Our Reunion adds a committee and an approval step on the money.
No. 14 · November 6, 2026 · 5 min read
25 Class Reunion Ideas That Get Classmates Talking
Class reunion ideas beyond name tags and a cash bar: 25 icebreakers, memory activities and mixers that get old classmates talking again.