[Kblader]

Hi everyone, I’m currently a working mom of a 1.5 year old just starting the cpa exam. I’m just wondering if there’s any other moms here who might have some tips! My husband is usually pretty busy so its 50/50 whether or not he can watch our son so I can find time to study.. how do other moms manage to find time to study with a full time job??

[Painted_Jeans]

I had to ship my son off with my mom and dad for the summer so i can work and study for FAR.. my son is much older though and I am single.. Work full time in audit and approaching last semester of grad school. I'd say dont kill yourself over it, take your time.. i wouldnt be able to do it with a 1,5 yr old to be honest

[Mona S.]

I'm a single mom of a 3 year old and I work full time. When I started studying for the exam 7 months ago, my daughter used to stay up until 11 PM some nights which made studying impossible. So I decided to cut off her naps and put her to bed at 7:30PM. Best decision ever! She falls asleep as soon I put her to bed and sleeps until 7 am the next day. This allows me to study 4-5 hours M-F and about 8 hours on the weekend (4 hours before her bedtime and 4 hours after). The 4 hours before her bedtime are sometimes good, but other times she wants my full attention. I managed to pass FAR and REG 1st try; I sat for BEC a couple of weeks ago and I'm now studying for AUD. Like @Painter_jeans said, take your time and don't stress it too much. This exam is temporary.

[texasbadger7]

I'm a mom here and just starting my CPA journey with REG! It's been years since I've studied for anything, so I'm having a difficult time adjusting. During weekdays, I will study after she goes to sleep, and during weekends, my husband will watch her while I study. On most days though, I am never able to stick to a routine schedule. I also plan on studying during lunch at work and just hit MCQs or watch videos.

[texasbadger7]

I'm a mom with a 18 month old and just starting my CPA journey with REG! It's been years since I've studied for anything, so I'm having a difficult time adjusting. During weekdays, I will study after she goes to sleep, and during weekends, my husband will watch her while I study. On most days though, I am never able to stick to a routine schedule. I also plan on studying during lunch at work and just hit MCQs or watch videos.

[rahee]

Not a mom, but just wanted to say that you are all AWESOME. What you guys are doing is seriously not easy! I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to be a mom, work full time, and find time to study. Good luck to you all!

[LeAnn]

I study early in the morning (5am-7am) while the house is quiet. I’m a morning person so this works best for me. I also study on my lunch breaks at work at least 3-4 days each week. My evenings are usually busy with dinner and family time but I squeeze in a little more study time if my brain is still working by then.

[Kblader]

Thank you all for the feedback! Fortunately my son is an early bird and is typically in bed by 730 and then sleeps until 6 or 630. I'm thinking about waking up early to fit in some study time before he's awake on weekdays and weekends too. I think my husband is just gonna have to get used to picking up the slack when I need time to study lol

[OTK1995]

Just find the time. You may have to sacrifice some sleep, play dates, extracurriculars. Funny thing is that sometimes your kids will entertain themselves. You may have to order out, feed yourself cereal, use online grocery shopping.

I finally finished mine and this is with a 16 year old, a 5 year old special needs child and being the controller for a subsidiary of a Fortune 10 company. To get through Financial and Reg, I gave up my week nights and weekends. The house was a mess. My husband honestly wasn't much help and work really had nothing to do with it. My main issue was that I had to force myself to focus on this and not get distracted during my study time. You have to be dedicated to shutting out the noise.

[Broken Toy]

Not to get involved in your relationship but unless your definition of your husband being busy includes him actually being at work I would say that he needs to step up and help you by taking on most of the child care responsibilities when he is not working. A child is an obligation you both share and both of you will get the financial benefits when you finish the CPA. I think it is reasonable to expect your husband to watch the child from 8 PM until bed time allowing you 2 and half hours each weekday to study and however much time you want to take on weekends.

[Kblader]

Broken toy I totally agree. Ive been trying to explain to him how much he'll have to step up so I can do this but I honestly think he's brushing it off as if I'm exaggerating. I don't see him handling bedtime that frequently but you brought up some good points that I'm going to share with him.

[Kblader]

Side note: HOW DID YOU PULL OFF A 96 ON FAR?!

[Painted_Jeans]

@Broken Toy Damn 97 on FAR you're a genius!

[glopooka]

Hi Mamas! I am a mother of a 5 year old and I am 15 weeks pregnant. Trying to finish up REG and then I am done. My life saver was not working and having my sitter. I study full time, it is my job. My hubby works and isn't always able to help. I still slack in my housework, but I am not that worried. These tests were way more important. My daughter understands how important the exams are as well as my study time (on the weekends or days my sitter isn't helping). She doesn't like it, and I struggle those days, usually getting nothing done. She feels the pain. lol She frequently asks when I will be done studying. Soon baby girl, soon I hope! I know she will understand and be proud when she is older. This is for her and this new baby!

[Kblader]

I wish I could study full time, but it looks like you're in the home stretch. Good luck on REG!

[krstnam]

I agree, you need ABSOLUTE buy-in from your husband. If you're doing 15 hours a week of studying, hubby needs to be putting in an extra 15 hours of housework that you would normally do. He doesn't like housework? Well I'm sure you don't like studying! My husband and I went rounds with this. I ended up saying “If you aren't helping me, you're hurting me.” I will send him and the kid out of the house the weekend before an exam day.
My best piece of advise is try to figure what works best for you. I've absorbed so much advice and some things that work awesome for me may be an epic failure for you. Once you figure out what the studying/family/marriage balance looks like, you'll be golden.

Good luck!
PS: don't be hard on yourself. I got so discouraged learning that some people study 4 hours every weekday and 16 hours on the weekend. For me that was an absurd goal! Since I've paired back a lot and focused on quality study time over number of MCQs, studying has become much easier and more efficient, I average 8-13 hours/week and I'm not ashamed! 🙂

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