[okcpa2015]

So I’m about to take a week long trip to the beach. I don’t have kids and we don’t really have any plans when we get there besides hanging out at the beach and a round of golf.

Any success stories or tips on trying to get some studying done while on vacation or is this just a lost cause?

FAR - 91
REG - 88
AUD - 98
BEC - 88

[Skynet]

Listen to audio lectures at the beach while getting your tan. When you are on the golf course, in between holes, work a few mcq's on your smart phone.

[MaLoTu]

I went on vacation to San Diego while studying for REG. I couldn't focus. I have kids though and we like to do stuff. If you are really disciplined you will probably be fine. No advice other that be realistic about you expectations for studying while away.

[Skynet]

The Audio will help tremendously especially if you plan on studying new materials. It's subliminal. As you continue to listen to it over and over some of the materials will eventually be embedded in your head.

So just load all the audio and just continuously listen to the over and over. You won't regret it and may be surprised by how much you will remember.

[greg422]

Personally I would get up about 1-2 hours earlier and try to study then. Once they day started I found I was screwed.

REG - 82
AUD - 97
BEC - 81
FAR - 84
DONE!

[Anonymous]

My advice would be to plan it for a specific time every day (or every other day or whatever your needs are), and let the other person know ahead of time to give them the option finding something else to do so you can work in peace.

I think if I went on my vacation and my boyfriend was whipping out his textbook or laptop every time we had a break in the day, I'd feel like his mind was elsewhere. I'd much rather he say “Babe, from 7 to 9 every morning, I'm going to be working. I'm all yours for the rest of the day.” My boyfriend is military, though, and incredibly regimented, so he would much rather do it that way, too.

[ocarina]

I went to a conference & utilized my Microsoft Surface & studied in the hotel room after the day was done. Or if there was downtime I went and studied. I think a regular schedule is key. Just replace the “work day” with vacation time and keep studying in the evenings. Also realize you'll be sacrificing night time fun as you are still studying for the CPA.

FAR - 78
AUD - 82
REG - 79
BEC - 78

Study Materials: Becker Self Study, NINJA Notes, NINJA MCQ for review
Started March 2015 and finished December 2015 all on first attempt. Licensed CPA Jan 2016.

IT Auditor/CyberSec Consultant in Public Accounting
Future goals: Learn IT Network infrastructure, obtain CISA & CISSP

[Quinacridone]

Flashcards!!! I had them on me the whole time while I was in France. We were with another couple so I was worried that they would be offended by my studying, but the flashcards were so unintrusive it wasn't a problem at all. (I had the full set of the Becker flashcards and used them heavily while I was studying).

REG - Nov 4, 2013: 88
FAR - Feb 27, 2014: 86
AUD - April 5, 2014: 91
BEC - May 6, 2014: 83

Florida CPA 24 July 2014
(Done in seven months - thank you Jesus!!)

[Peterman25]

Get up early and study for 2-4 hours. Done. You have the rest of the day to do whatever. But yes, what the others said, you have to set aside a few hours a day to study or you wont get any quality study time in.

BEC 7/14 - PASS
FAR 10/14 - PASS
AUD 1/15 - PASS
REG 4/15 - PASS

AZ license - Official 8/20/2015

[Thrawn]

Do yourself a favor, do not study on vacation. Enjoy yourself, take a mental break and come back refreshed and ready to study.

BEC 87 Feb 14
REG 84 Apr 14
FAR 82 Nov 14
AUD 86 Feb 15

[TheFutureCPA]

I agree with @greg422 and @peterman25. I was in the middle of studying for FAR when my spring break fell. I decided to take this week and study Gov/Not-for-profit accounting over this time. Early in the morning (6:30 am – 9:00 am) I went to a coffee shop and hit the books. It was nice in the morning getting a couple cups of coffee and a small breakfast sammy while knocking out these two tough topics. Could relax the rest of the day without feeling too guilty about not studying.

AUD- 2/4/15- 87!
BEC- 2/19/15- 82!
FAR- 4/2/15- 78!
REG- 5/8/15- 76!

“A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”

[TheFutureCPA]

AUD- 2/4/15- 87!
BEC- 2/19/15- 82!
FAR- 4/2/15- 78!
REG- 5/8/15- 76!

“A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”

[Anonymous]

passed my first exam (reg) after a week long beach vacation. I would get up and study early, then go to the beach for par of the morning. I would head home around 10:30 (I dont like midday at the beach anyway) and study for about 1.5, then make lunch for the family as they trouped back. They would go off and do something (visit museum, whatever) and I would study again til about 4 PM. Then we would go back to the beach and I would bring my flash cards for whatever I had covered the previous days. Enjoy a nice dinner and then go to bed early.

[Ajaz0810]

I'm going to be in Myrtle Beach in a month and a half. I can't afford to take a week off. I'm going to go out to the beach early and come in mid day to take a 2 hour break to study. After that 2 hours go back out and catch some sun.

FAR 62, 66, 78
AUD 66, 55, 74, 72
BEC 79
REG

[Author]

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