[N2BCPA]

Hi! I am new here and I am looking for some advice. I received my undergrad in Marketing and turned interested into the accounting field after working for the IRS for 5 years. I went back to school and took additional accounting courses and now I am eligible to sit for the exams.

This has been a long time coming and I am ready to tackle this head on.

Only problem is making time while having a family. I have twins under 1 and a 4 year old!!! For the people who have a family, how do you all do it?! I don’t know if there will ever be a great time for me to study with 3 kids but I think right now is ideal because I am staying at home for the next couple of years instead of working. Add that to the fact that I live away from family so it is only me and my husband, no family around to help.

In addition, I have been trying to decide on which CPA Review program to go with. I initially was set on Becker but then thought Yaeger would be good for me due to the learning style. Any advice on any of them? CPAExcel, Roger too? I think I need more than just a review because I have definitely forgotten some things from Intermediate/Advanced Accounting.

For people who have families how much time did you give each exam? I truly don’t want to do FAR 1st even though I hear that you should. I almost feel like I need to do an easier one, or maybe REG from my IRS experience, just to give me a boost of confidence. Has anyone did it this way? Any feedback anyone can give me would be great.

REG 07/2016....ROGER/NINJA AUDIO/MCQ/NOTES--62, retake 10/1
BEC
FAR
AUD

"A PART OF BEING A BEAST JUST AINT EATING A GAZELLE; A PART OF BEING A BEAST IS THE HUNT! YOU CANT WISH TO BE GREAT WITHOUT PUTTING IN THE WORK!"
-ETHIPHOPPREACHER

[choffner]

Just don't do AUD before FAR. FAR gives you a sort of subconscious background for AUD, and the AUD SIMS often rely on FAR concepts.

It's not a great answer, but I basically had to shut the rest of my life out while I studied. I was working too though. My wife took care of our kid and I was an absent parent 90% of the time.

Becker seems to be more in depth, covering so many minute details. Depends how much of a chance you're willing to take that learning the major concepts inside and out will get you to a 75. Ninja MCQs are a great supplement to any program, just for the added practice.

BEC 75
REG 81
FAR 69, 75
AUD 71, 74, 84

[elvinglara]

In terms of study materials, go with whatever your intuition tells you. People have had success with every set of study materials out there. I always learned best by practicing rather than listening to lectures (which I always tended to tune out of after 5-10 minutes), so I went with just the Ninja MCQs, flash cards, audio, notes, and the Wiley books (which I dropped for my last part, REG).

More importantly, however, you need to take advantage of every moment of free time you have. Those little moments add up to a lot of time. Kids are napping? Practice. Standing on a checkout line? Practice. Flash cards are great for this. Also, if you have a smartphone, you can do Ninja MCQs on the go (albeit in tiny lettering, but it'll do). Concepts you don't get become flash cards themselves. Of course, at some point you need to block off a few hours at a time for studying, particularly if you're listening to lectures and note-taking. But in your situation, you also need to use those little moments in your day for extra practice and reinforcement.

FAR (8/17/14) - 86
AUD (8/22/14) - 90
BEC (8/31/14) - 86
REG (2/29/16) - 90

Study Materials: Ninja Notes, Flash Cards, and MCQ

[PublicGuy]

If you really wanna handle this head on id treat studying like a full time job and get a sitter for your kids. You can have the tests done in A few months depending on how the window works for you. People fail because they don't give 100%. Some may not agree with the “shut everything else down” approach, but if you really want the CPA it's really the best way to be sure you pass everything the first time and in a short window.

As far as material, I used CPAexcel and it worked great for me.

[sva_123]

Tackle whichever exam you feel most comfortable with, sounds like REG for you. I was a former auditor in public accounting so I took Audit first to build confidence. I was also 10+ years out of school so I used Becker and Ninja. Had no problem relearning the material.

Regarding your family, there's really no way to pass these exams than to just dedicate the time to studying. I study at the library and rarely at home. My husband and mom help out with my 2 and 5 year old and I'm absent a lot, but I do make time for the important stuff. It's just temporary, that's what I keep telling myself. Good luck. You can do this!

AUD: Pass (July 2015)
BEC: Pass (Nov 2015)
REG: Pass (Feb 2016)
FAR: Pass (June 2016)
Ethics: 100%

Becker self study and Ninja 10 pt combo

[red07]

Hi N2BCPA, your story seems so much like mine except that I have two toddlers and planning for a third :).
I initially started off with Becker last December thinking i would knock out FAR as my first exam but some things came up and I had to literally stop studying. Secondly, paying Becker out of pocket was a burden too hence i returned it. I do see that people pass with other review courses too and it all depends on how much quality time you give to it. I want to sit for the first exam end of April and with kids and all I personally think BEC would be good choice as the course load is lesser than the others, so if I pass this one ill get on track. As for the review course, I tried all and came to the conclusion that rogers would be a good option since he's engaging and we moms need some energetic lecturer to keep us going. I found CPA lectures to be very boring and dry and same for the other courses. I did like Beckers style though but then the price. Instead i will be getting NINJA notes and MCQs.

Spending time with kids: If your kids are going to a preschool or something for even half of the day, I would say utilize that time and shut everything out during that time and study, when they come back, give them time and study again after they are in bed. i believe this is the only best way to balance between the two.

Let me know what course you decide on and your study method

Goodluck

[Zuly]

@N2BCPA I have a three year old and it's been hard because I work full time and still have to help run a household. Thankfully my husband is completely on board and my mom and niece also help me out. I think it's important for you to recruit your family for help with household chores, cooking, taking care of the kids, etc. I feel that for me I need at least 10-12 weeks to complete a section. I have tried to do it in more time and less time and didn't seem to pass. Really, it's whatever works for you and your schedule. I came up with a schedule and made sure to stick with it as much as possible, even though you have to have enough cushion for whatever things come up, especially when you have kids. I'm currently studying with Roger and love him. I don't advise using more than one program at a time though. It can get overwhelming and from my own experience where I have tried this all the programs have different ways to teach the subject matter and teach it in a different order. So if you want to study with two programs you'll end up frustrating yourself trying to line them up so you can use them simultaneously. My best advice is to go through one complete program and then if you want to supplement do so the last 2-3 weeks for review. I highly recommend NINJA MCQs for this or the other NINJA products like the audio, notes, etc.

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

[Jdn9201]

I can't really say much on the family obligations because I'm single. For the most part, I shut everything else besides work off while I was studying. My friends for the most part understood, and so did my family. I gave myself at least a 2 week break between each section and that's when I'd catch up somewhat on family and friends time. I'm sure you can't reduce your family responsibilities to zero, but do everything you can to give yourself as much time as possible to study. If you get a sitter or whatever help you can, it would allow you to get your exams done quicker. I realize everyone is different, but after going through the exams, I think some people make the mistake of studying over a long period of time. Especially with FAR, it makes it harder to retain the information if it's stretched out over a longer study period. For exam order, you have to figure out what works best for you. I work in tax and have a strong background knowledge for BEC, so I intentionally scheduled those first so I get some momentum without having to suffer too much. There's no way I would have been motivated to take out FAR first – it's too overwhelming. I didn't choose to take AUD before FAR but wound up doing so, and it didn't hurt me. Lastly, on the review programs – I only used Roger and he is super awesome. I thought his test bank was sufficient and he teaches in a way that made me remember it the first time for many topics. Good luck!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[N2BCPA]

Thanks everyone for your advice!

REG 07/2016....ROGER/NINJA AUDIO/MCQ/NOTES--62, retake 10/1
BEC
FAR
AUD

"A PART OF BEING A BEAST JUST AINT EATING A GAZELLE; A PART OF BEING A BEAST IS THE HUNT! YOU CANT WISH TO BE GREAT WITHOUT PUTTING IN THE WORK!"
-ETHIPHOPPREACHER

[Joe C.]

B2BCPA,
I went back to school and graduated last spring. I am a stay at home Dad as my wife is a CPA. I have an 18 month old and I will tell you it is very hard! I dont have any outside help and I work nights and weekends. I have BEC scheduled for April 7th and I am really worried. I will take it as it is paid for, but if I dont pass I will wait until fall until my daughter is in a preschool setting 2 days per week for 4 hrs. I am using Yaeger. Not sure if I would go with them again as the lectures are too detailed and long. I know several people who passed with the Wiley books and test bank. See, with Yaeger they simply read a lot directly from the book and then do mcq. That can be done on your own. Good luck with whatever you decide.

BEC 75
AUD 9/6
REG TBD
FAR TBD

WI Candidate

[N2BCPA]

RThanks. Are people buying all four courses with these reviews or one at a time? I really want to do Roger but I don't want to spend a lot of money on something and not like it. I have been doing trials and looking up things on YouTube but still trying to determine what to do.

REG 07/2016....ROGER/NINJA AUDIO/MCQ/NOTES--62, retake 10/1
BEC
FAR
AUD

"A PART OF BEING A BEAST JUST AINT EATING A GAZELLE; A PART OF BEING A BEAST IS THE HUNT! YOU CANT WISH TO BE GREAT WITHOUT PUTTING IN THE WORK!"
-ETHIPHOPPREACHER

[Anonymous]

I became eligible to sit when my son was born in 2009. Thinking that it would be way too hard to handle the kid, wife and work, I put it off. My daughter arrived in 2011. By 2013 , I knew I could no longer put it off even though it seemed like it was the most difficult time of my life.

2.5 years later and I am now done. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I missed a lot of time with the kids but I also adjusted my schedule as best as I could to compensate. I would study from 5am -8am daily and on the weekends from 5am-Noon. I never planned to study in the evenings but I often did. And I never studied at home. I went to mostly coffee shops and libraries. My wife also worked full time , so it was a major struggle for us both. We put the icing on the cake last year and built a new house , and moved twice while I was still taking exams. The stress peaked out with all of that. It has been 3 months since i've been done and I still feel like I am trying to integrate back into real family life and screw my head back on.
You have to dig in and do it. I promise you that it will not get any easier the longer you wait. Find your reasons why you want this. Make a vision board. Set a plan and do it.

[N2BCPA]

thanks @6silvermoonbeams…did you just use ninja? what review program did you end up going with?

REG 07/2016....ROGER/NINJA AUDIO/MCQ/NOTES--62, retake 10/1
BEC
FAR
AUD

"A PART OF BEING A BEAST JUST AINT EATING A GAZELLE; A PART OF BEING A BEAST IS THE HUNT! YOU CANT WISH TO BE GREAT WITHOUT PUTTING IN THE WORK!"
-ETHIPHOPPREACHER

[red07]

@N2BCPA, I am thinking of getting one part at a time, just to make sure that this works for me well, i too don't want to spend a lot on all 4 parts but rogers give great discounts too, so maybe getting all 4 together would be a better idea.

[Anonymous]

@N2BCPA I failed my first three attempts. All scores in the low 70's. At that point I started using only Ninja MCQ, Notes, Audio and Blitz. I bought the Ninja books but never used them. I hammered the MCQ's doing anywhere from 1,500 – over 3,000 questions per test. That is when I started passing. There were failures throughout my journey but once you figure out how to do it you can do them all. Thankfully I never lost a credit. I kept going one after the other until I passed them all.

[CarrieM]

My background: I became a single mom of two and went through a tsunami of a divorce while working full time and going to school full time. My kids were not as young as your as – mine were 11 and 8 at the time. I did not have any local family to help me, just my friends. I could not afford sitters – I was barely able to keep us above water. My school was about an hour away from where I was living at the time.

Beloved friends for whom I will be forever thankful for came to check on my kids – many times stay with them for the evening if they could but otherwise making sure that my latchkey children were ok, giving them a hug and texting me to let me know all was ok. Sundays were dedicated to marathon cooking sessions making dinner ahead for the week as i wanted my kids to come home to home cooked meals and not eat a bunch of junk. After a year of this we moved to a MUCH smaller home and a place closer to my work and school. However, this went on for several years as I completed my bachelor's degree and MSA.

Now I have two very busy teens who are physically more self sufficient than your children but emotionally seem to need me more than when they were younger. So I would tell you this – treat caring for your kids as your F/T job and treat studying like your P/T job – just like many of us do – and use the ELL system.

Get up an hour before your little ones and study. Then set it aside or put it away and be present for your kids. During afternoon nap, study. Then in the evenings, let dad take over in the evening and study. You're going to spend a lot of time after the kids go to bed studying.

If you have the means to do so, see if you can hire a teenager – particularly a young teen who you might not leave alone with your kids, but kind of a “mother's helper” who could come by after school for a couple hours to keep the kids busy so you can go study. I would see if I could get a pair of best friends to split this, that way, if one was busy the other one could pick up the slack.

For me, this meant getting organized too. Menus were planned so I didn't spend a precious 10 minutes in front of the fridge wondering what i was going to make for dinner. Plan it out, write it down and then you know right before bed on Monday night to thaw the ground beef for taco Tuesday tomorrow.

Some of your house chores might fall off a bit. things like laundry, otoh, shouldn't be a problem. You don't actually stand there watching the washing machine agitate your clothes and really, it's like a built in timer, right. before you sit to study, put in a load. When it buzzes, move and reboot, then stretch, get a drink of water and get back to studying. The average load of laundry is about an hour and a half – that's an hour and a half of studying – plus the laundry is getting done.

1 year olds won't be able to help much. bu 4 yo can. 4 year olds can match socks, collect and fold underwear, fold towels and washclothes, dust “low places”, stack and match tupperwear in the cabinet, put away silverware and all sorts of things. Plus at 4, THEY LIKE DOING IT so take advantage of that because trust me, it fades fast. You'll be getting things done (albiet not as fast, but who cares) teaching life skills and spending time together.

I'm not going to lie – it's not going to be easy. But if you make a plan and work the plan, you can do it. My 13 yo is a wrestler – guess who brings her study materials to wrestling meets and sits in the bleachers going over them? it isn't my ideal study location but I'm going to be there sitting and waiting between bouts all day long. Other people read the paper or play on their phone, I study.

If you really want to do this, it can be done. 🙂

FAR: 5/12/16... and if I don't die from an anxiety attack...
AUD: 7/8/16
REG: 8/25/16
BEC: 11/3/16

[Author]

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