[Kls238]

After studying my butt off, I found out that I failed AUD with a 74. I now have AUD and FAR to pass, which will be the 3rd time I’ll have to take each.

I read the forum about what to do after you’ve had multiple fails and getting new study material is often suggested. Problem: I don’t have the money anymore. I don’t have an employer helping pay for my study materials nor for my exams, so I’ve had to pay for it all myself. This wasn’t a big issue before, but I’ve run into medical problems and now almost all my income goes toward uninsured medical expenses. The last thing I want to even think about spending money on is more exam material.

Is there any free or really cheap complements to Becker to help push me over the hump?

Passed all sections.

[koolkat]

Kls238:

I completely understand. I have been taking the exam since 2012 and have paid for all of it out of my own pocket, including Becker, Yaeger and now some NINJA notes. I passed AUD and BEC in 2012 using Becker, but as I was drawing near to losing my AUD credit, I switched to Yaeger for FAR and REG because I was not getting anywhere with Becker for them. Well, I lost my AUD credit in January 2014. I continued to try for REG and FAR, and threw in AUD, but to no avail, even though I was close with all of them (71, 71, 70). Once I failed AUD in August, I knew that I had essentially lost my BEC credit, so I just focused on passing REG. I decided to read & take notes using my Yaeger/Wiley book for the Law portion and then do the MCQs and SIMs from Wiley Test Bank for taxes. I did nothing but MCQs for a month and a half, trying my best to understand why I got the answer wrong or right. Outside of consistent prayer to God, I believe it was the continual MCQs and focus on understanding “how” that allowed me to pass with a “75”!!! I just found out today and I thank God for His blessings. Currently, I am scheduled to take FAR on 11/24 so I bought the NINJA notes for less than $200 for all parts (because my CPA journey is becoming quite expensive). Also, I'm using the N-I-N-J-A system and believe that it may be working for me, but really won't know until I receive my scores back for it. You may want to try the NINJA notes or audio, as I have read that these products (which are inexpensive) have been very helpful. My prayers are with you in your decision on next steps, success in passing and health issues, too. Be blessed.

2002-2003 (when it was 2 Day Test):
AUD - 69, 80, 81
LAW - 73, 73, 73
TAX- 71, 72, 67*
FAR- 66, 63, 57*
(*on 3rd try, just tried to pass AUD & LAW while getting above 50 on these;didn't work)

2012-Present:
AUD - 73, 76 (expired 01/31/14), 70 (UGH)!, 86 (4/4/15 - praise God)!!
BEC- 55, 69, 69, 78 (expired 10/31/14), 5/26/15...76!!!! AND I'M FINALLY DONE!!!
FAR- 71, 71, 70, sat 11/24/14 - 75 PASSED!
REG- 65, 67, 71, 66, sat 10/4/14; 75 PASSED!

[samdiegoCPA]

I had to pay for all my materials and exam as well. I added it up yesterday and it was just over $4000 total. All put on the credit card because I don't have that cash or luxury of my company paying for it!

There is A LOT of free material online if you look for it. Take a couple of hours and go hunt on google. I had 2012 materials for my first three exams and used all 2014 materials for my last exam that I found online. That's all I'm gonna say.

Also, when Jeff has sales or discounts, USE THEM. I got $1 flashcards and used a discount code for the MCQ. He frequently does the audio for free for a few days also.

AUD: 84
REG: 84
BEC: 79
FAR: 83

[TNCPA16]

Maybe instead of getting new materials, change your approach to studying. My first go-around with the exam a couple of years ago, I tried the Becker approach. It didn't work for me. I'm still using Becker materials, but I don't follow their suggested study plan. I also added the Ninja 10 point combo, which is relatively inexpensive. If there are certain areas that I'm not really clear on even with Becker and Ninja, I just Google that topic. So far, so good.

[Zuly]

I found Allen Mursau's youtube videos with great detailed explanation on FAR concepts and those are free. Apparently someone made a playlist so maybe these can help you with some of your weaker topics that Becker isn't covering as well as you'd like. Here's the link:

Also, I know you mentioned you didn't want to spend anymore money but the NINJA MCQs are only $47 per section and maybe that can make the difference between passing and another fail. I used them for my first exam, FAR, and felt they really prepared me, just wished I had started using them sooner in my study plan.

Good luck with everything!

FAR - (11/01/14) 71 (02/07/15) 79
AUD - (04/30/15) 86
BEC - (07/21/15) 73 (10/01/15) 75
REG - (11/30/15) 55 (05/19/16) 74

[Kls238]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I think I'm going to go with the NINJA method and look up the concepts that I find tricky.

@CPAalltheway2015, I bought NINJA MCQs for REG, BEC, and my second AUD attempt. I ran out of time and couldn't complete all the AUD SIMs, so maybe doing all of them and mastering those tricky subjects will push me over the edge.

Anyone have input on which exam (FAR or AUD) is better to retake during busy season? I plan to take one in Jan, then study and take the other during busy season. AUD is obviously fresher because I just took it, but it's also easier to bust through tons of practice MCQs/SIMs when you're short on time (i.e. busy season).

Passed all sections.

[Author]

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