Hello! By this time, fellow Cultivate What Matters members will know that Cultivate What Matters is coming to an end. The company was purchased a few years ago by Daily Grace Co., and it seems like the company was unsustainable.
When I first heard the news, I was shocked and then saddened. I have grown with Cultivate What Matters through the years, and it had become something I could rely on, looking forward to the launch each year and also use as a continual learning experience.
Despite being saddened by the news, my mind immediately jumped to what I was going to do. Despite being on social media, and having viewers rely on me for my content, I am still able to make my own choice regarding what products I use.
To my knowledge, the biggest goal planning company on the market currently besides for Cultivate What Matters is MakseLife. I haven't really been keeping in the loop with MakseLife, but a few years ago I showed a bit of interest in it. For some reason, I always talked myself out of purchasing it. One of the major reasons at the time was MakseLife was always known for integrating a weekly planner into their goal planner. I always preferred my own planner system (I.e. Franklin Planner) so I always stuck with the basic yearly goal planner from CWM.
I think I checked again a few years ago, and the thing that drove me away was the shipping cost. Even now, if I was to get the physical copy of MakseLife along with a few extras, shipping almost reaches $100 - this is NOT including customs, fees or additional taxes.
I think it was last year that I discovered a third party shipping company that delivered things from the US to Canada at a nominal fee. Most companies are pretty reasonable when it comes to customs and duties on their products. For example, when I order Cocoa Daisy, the price can range anywhere from $100-$500 depending on what kits you order. The most I've spent on customs and duties was $35.00, and that was directly to my door.
When I first found Planner Perfect, I did the same thing - I ordered product to my house and paid an initial shipping amount of $36-$50 USD ($50-$70 CAD). Then, when it came to my post office, on one order they charged me $105 in customs. So my order cost almost $200 just to ship to my house!! That was almost the cost of my entire order!
After a few inquiries, I came across a company called Shippsy. ( I do have an affiliate link here if you want to check it out for yourself. Please note: I do make credit off of this link if it is used).
It turns out that I was grossly overpaying. I also found it was cheaper to ship Janes Agenda with Shippsy as well, as the subscription box is free to ship within the US. As it turns out, there are some companies that don't even ship to Canada. An example of this is TayloredPlan, on Etsy. As a matter of fact, I have come across a few small businesses on Etsy that don't ship outside the US. Shippsy (or other border shipping services like it seem to be the answer to our prayers!)
So, since I have found Shippsy, this resolves the issue of the high cost of shipping for the MakseLife Goal Planner. So there shouldn't really be any other issue...
I do feel loyalty towards the brand, but considering the company will not exist as of December 31, 2026 I don't know if that really matters anymore. I figure I have two choices:
- Make the jump to Makeslife for 2027
- Stay with CWM (buy as many undated goal planners as I can)
I don't really like undated planners, so I think I will jump into Makselife. I have already committed to playing around with the Digital version of the 2026 Makselife horizontal layout Goal planner.
As of the date of writing (Aug. 20, 2026), I haven't really had much time to look at the planner. I have been adding it to my to-do list each day, but so far, I have had too many things on my mind. When this blog goes live, I will have had a video on the general overview of Makeslife.
Please check out the video here:
Makselife Goal Planner overview (Digital Version)
Another case in point is I am currently trying to become an affiliate with Makselife. I am a current affiliate with CWM - the company and the customers have been good to me, but we can't go down with a sinking ship! I will re-establish an affiliate relationship with Makse and we can check out this whole new world together!
Makselife Affilaite Link: https://tidd.ly/3VPhvsj
Additionally, I believe the sale for CWM occurs in September, but MakseLife launches in October. This gives us time to plan our budgets for the new goal planner. I don't know about you, but the fall season into the holidays are always a bit difficult to navigate - especially when you have kids and large families.
So thank you for taking the time to read today's blog. Let me know if you are moving to Makeslife as well! Let's explore new territory together!
❤️ Sandra
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