[BRITTANY.CAMP]

Hello,

I have passed REG, but am having a terrible time even getting through the lectures and homework one time on FAR. I have been going through the material for several weeks now and am on F8. How are you people getting it done in 6 weeks? Tips on how to study with a 40 hr job and a two year old??

I am using Becker and I also have the Ninja MQ but haven’t had time to look at Ninja much.

[silvercamaro77]

I haven't sat for any of the exams yet but I'm about 4 weeks in on studying for AUD. I work full-time (40 hrs/week), have a 2 year old DD, a 10 month old DS, and a husband that works in retail so he doesn't have a set schedule- he might work 4:30AM – 1:30PM some days and 1:30PM – 10:30PM some days and anywhere in between.

The first thing I've found is that a 6 week study-time frame isn't going to be realistic for me.

DS has finally (i.e. this is the first week of) started only getting up 2 to 3 times per night with his last wake up around 4:30AM. In theory I would do flashcards or read the NINJA notes on my phone, in practice the light keeps him from going back to sleep and I often doze back off myself.

5AM – 7AM- get myself and kids ready and drop kids off at daycare.

7AM – 7:45AM- commute and listen to audio or sometimes listen to the video (note that I play the video but don't watch it while driving I strictly listen)

7:45AM – 8:15AM- study at work

8:15AM – 4:30PM- work; around 12 take 30 minutes to pump milk for DS, eat, and study

4:30PM – 5:15PM ish- commute and listen to audio or sometimes listen to the video

5:15PM – 7:45PM- pick kids up from daycare, dinner/clean-up, ~ 20mins of playtime with kids, tuck kids in, prep bottles for the next day

7:45PM – 8:30/9PM- time with DH and study

9PM ish DS up for first time

Edited to add:

Weekends I don't get much studying done. I'm going to have to start either having someone come play with the kids or take them somewhere because right now I'm spending all day trying to catch up on general housekeeping- laundry, vacuuming, etc while keeping the mess from the kids playing at bay. I think if someone else could occupy them for 3-4 hours I could both get some studying done and get caught up on house stuff.

AUD- 95
FAR- 75
BEC- 83
REG- 85

Officially done! Exclusively used NINJA for BEC, REG, and FAR

[impska]

I was thinking (while mowing my lawn instead of studying on my day off today – cause, you know – chores), is it worth it to maybe pay for daycare or a babysitter one day each weekend?

I think the trick then is to really use the time to study – not to do all of the other chores that pile up all week. Save those chores for when your child is home, because cleaning the house and doing laundry doesn't require 100% of you focus.

And don't waste time (like I'm doing now)! Wasting time is for when there's no more CPA exam to study for.

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[LStevens225]

@silver You have motivated me to get up early and study at work. I've always tried to get up a 4:30 and get ready and study at home but too much distractions. I decided to get to work an hour early and study there! Thanks. We'll see how it goes!!

[nicole2035]

that's amazing @tpenick i hope to get on more aggressive schedule like that

[Anonymous]

I study on the train into and out of Philadelphia (approx a half-hour each way), study for an hour lunch break, and do three hours a night at home. That gives 25 hrs per week. That should be enough to do FAR in 6 weeks, REG in 5 weeks, BEC in 4, and AUD in 4.

I take the weekends off. In my experience, finding the time to step away from the material and chillax is probably even more important than finding the time to read it.

[Anonymous]

I too studied with a full-time job. It is no fun, but I would study after work in my office generally for four hours a night and then made the most of my weekends generally trying to cram in six hours a day. Like Peter Olinto from Becker says “there is an inverse relationship between the amount of fun you have and the odds that you will pass the exam.”

Best of luck those of you studying!

[Author]

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