FREE AT LAST
26. Nov, 2008 
81 Comments
After three long years, I have passed the CPA Exam.
I absolutely could not have accomplished this without God’s mercy, a supportive wife and kids, and Phil Yaeger. My wife and I are grateful to Yaeger CPA Review because they were the turning point in my exam experience. I honestly don’t think I would be sitting here today with 4 passing scores (and none expiring, apparently) without Yaeger, which is why I will always be grateful to them and will always recommend them.
THANK YOU PHIL.
I may not have any “MCQs” to study anymore and I may not be getting up at 4am, 4:30am, 6am, to check my scores (just in case!), but I will continue this blog and will always help other candidates in any way that I can via the blog or e-mail. Eight months ago, I was sitting here with one section passed that would soon expire (Oct 2006 – and it DID expire) and while I didn’t start out my exam journey very well (I didn’t really want to be a CPA because I didn’t want to sacrifice to get it), I finished strong and this is the greatest personal accomplishment of my life to date.
I have silenced my biggest critic – myself.
If you are still going through this exam and find yourself discouraged – Keep Moving Forward and never, ever, give up. Your day will come.
Thank you for reading.
Congratulations! What a wonderful way to start the holidays! I wish you and your family the best! Now go out, spend some time with the family and enjoy yourself! You’ve really earned it! No more CPA monkey your back!
Congratulations! I know how you feel, I just finished, too! Thank God!
Your story is inspiring and so motivating. Thank you for including everyone in on this. Take your family on a long vacation. Congrats on your success!
Congrats! I am so happy for you. Your story has inspired many to continue their quest for the CPA exam.
Congrats!!! And Thank you for your Blog!!!
I am still waiting for my FAR, Alaska haven’t published anything yet.
Congrats A71. I would imagine this is going to be a great thanksgiving for you. best of luck to you; you’v earned it, and have inspired many to do the same.
see you at the top
Congratulations! I took FAR on 11/14, so I know my score is at least a month away, but I’ve been compulsively hitting refresh multiple times a day for the last week, anxiously waiting for updates from you about your score. Enjoy the holidays!
Congratulations! !!
OMG, I’m misty! Congratulations to you! I wish you and your lovely family all the very best!!
Congratulations Another71!!
Congratulations – A71 You DID it
We are all happy and with you on your this especial moment – Raza
Congratulations, your blog has been a blessing…Enjoy some down time with your family and have a great Thanksgiving. Thanks for being an inspiration and motivator to us all. – Brian
That’s fantastic! I’m really happy for you, ^-^ Happy holidays!
i’m so glad you didn’t have to wait till December to get your score! Congratulations times a million! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It’s made such in a difference in the way i approached studying for this thing. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family!
Congratulations! I am really happy for you and thank you for this blog! I would have been still sitting at home waiting for my scores if it wasn’t for your blog.
Congrats! – Now where is my REG score??? Took it 10/3
You are my new hero. Congratulations to you and your family….as a team you worked/sacrificed and achieved. You have inspired many of us and I will contiue to check this site as I try to pass my 2 remaining exams (that’s a hint for you to keep posting helpful info….you started this and now you gotta continue to help the rest of us
)
Congratulations! At least stay away from the blog for a few days… you deserve a break!
Jeff,
Great job! I am envious of you. I hope someday to be in your shoes. Did you get the email I sent you?????
CONGRATS!!!!!
I checked to see if ur score is up yesterday and I knew it was due this week!!
Heartiest congrats&very well deserved.
Hope to see u again in the forum,helping people reach their goal too….U have been always very helpful!!
Congrats once again.
–Radhika
Congrats!
I was ready to quite after walking out of REG a few months ago. I knew I had not passed, and decided it was not meant to be after many attempts of falling short by a few points. I found this blog a few days later, and made myself decide I would pass no matter what. A few weeks later, my REG score came back a 79. One section down, three to go. I still come back and read this almost daily to remind myself to keep pushing hard. Thank you for doing this blog, and it is inspiration to see you reach the goal. – CD
Congratulations!!! I’m so excited for you! Your original prediction came true about FAR, I received my score this morning in NY… 75!!! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Congratulations !!! You deserved it. Thanks for the great job that you do in motivating other people on this blog!
Congrats and don’t forget to ask for raise!! and the question is when would I get my REG score??
Congrats! I am truly inspired! I just got “another 71″ but know that anybody can pass this thing. I’ll keep your story in my mind as I go through this whole thing one more time and pass it like you did.
Congrats! You deserved it! Happy Holidays and Best Wishes!
I just found this site yesterday, and I am still very happy for you after reading everything. Congrats.
Congrats! I am so happy for you. Enjoy the holidays with such a huge weight off your shoulders.
Congratulations–a truly great accomplishment for you and your family to be proud of. While I’m still waiting for my FAR score in NY, I’m glad that I’m the one still waiting; you deserved to get your score earlier.
I’m awaiting results on FAR and REG and am taking AUD in January. This is the best blog I’ve encountered on the internet…and the only one I read.
Congratulations, and have a great Thanksgiving!
Congratulations!!! This must be the best Thanksgiving of your life
Congratulations! I’m so glad I found this blog which will now motivate me to move forward! Thank you!
Congrats!
Still no score on FAR in NY…when I called NASBA they said they were releasing this week and next week, only on business days. So all you NYers take the weekend off! Enjoy! Any hopefully come monday we will see a 75+ in the dreaded box.
Congratulations!! I kept coming back to your website to motivate myself when I was extremely frustrated with the studying. Thank you so much for inspiring me!! You finally did it!! God bless you and your family.
I really appreciate everyone’s kind words and encouragement throughout this process. If anyone ever needs some advice or help with the Exam, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me.
-Jeff
Congratulations!!! I am starting my CPA exam journey in January, and have really enjoyed reading your blog so keep it going until I pass!!
Your writings are inspiring and motivating.
Amy
Congrats Jeff. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend.
Congratulations. I haven’t got my scores yet, but you have been totally encouraging. You should be so proud of yourself. I’ll take your win, as a win for the team : )
Congrats & happy thanksgiving to your family. Your Keep Moving fwd post is really inspiring & now you can proudly tell your kids that daddy did it, Congrats again, so happy for you
FINALLY man!! Congratulations!
Keep posting on how the life of another71 changed after being a CPA.. was it worth it.. that’s what we wanna know.
Congratulations!!!! I am so excited for you. Thank you for all the encouragement you’ve provided and for recommending Yaeger- he has helped me too.
Very motivating victory and blog !
Can you tell us.. your friends.. a reasonable study frame in your situation( full time job, kids), how many hours did you manage to stay focused on studying every week to pass.
CONGRATULATIONS for you for passing and for your wife for having patience .. life with 3 small kids isn’t easy
Congratulations!!
I hope to be able to finish soon.
Your posts have definitely inspired me and when I was reading your post a few min. ago, I had tears in my eyes. It is POSSIBLE to pass this exam; everyone just has to make sacrifices, be it time away from family or friends or taking time off from work.
Thanks again for your blog and best wishes to you and your family.
COngrats!!!! I am so proufd of you! What a great accomplishment! I hope to do same
congratulations another71!! i found this blog in june when i first started studying for the exam and have come to find myself checking it multiple times a day. you are truly an inspiration and you should be so proud of yourself! congrats!!!!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!!!
Another71…congrats man! I am in the same boat you were, fighting and clawing and never giving up. You are an inspiration my friend. All the best!
-Bubzeebub
Congratulations!
I am proud of you for your own achievment and for inspiring the rest of us. I just finished my exams and I passed them all. You and the Yaeger team were instrumental to my success. Many thanks to you both.
Wish you the best of times in the holidays.
From a brand new CPA!
Time to change the blog to another76…..
Congrats!
Congrats buddy… your blog has helped me realize I am not alone in the struggles to become a CPA. It has been comforting and helpful to hear about your thoughts on the long process. I hope you keep this blog up-to-date.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving… you’ve earned it!
Congratulations! I have also been trying to pass for the last three years, with some large breaks in between. I used bisk and some Becker and roger CPA review and I am still struggling. Thank you for keeping the dream alive! Have a wonderful holiday!
Congratulations!
truly awesome, and im glad you are keeping up your blog. I am a may 2008 grad who just failed bec with a 71 and am waiting on aud. You and your site are a true inspiration. Congrats!
Congrats! I just came back from my vacation and checked to see if I passed BEC but I failed. I have taken it many times. I added Yaeger cram to my study and I got a 70. It hurts! I am not sure what to do next. This CPA thing might not be for me. I am still waiting for my REG score. I also used Yaeger Cram for that. If I also didn’t pass REG, I do not know if I want to continue this anymore.
I just took FAR today. It was really really hard. It had a little bit of everything but the sad thing was that the MCQ were bad. They were worded in a very tricky way, important topics that I studied were either not on the exam or were written in such a way that I could either not figure out was being asked or if I did it took me forever. Any of the easier topics had multiple twists. The simulations were impossible…..I waited until the very end of November to allow myself more study time for FAR but after sitting for the exam today I feel that this extra time may not have helped…
Way to go!!!!!! I have taken FAR and BEC so far this testing window. I will be taking REG tomorrow. I am not quite as worried about REG because I have been in either a Fed Tax practice at the Big 4 or tax practice of a small accounting firm for 4 years. I am hoping for 75’s, so I can finally be done. I lost credit in June for both REG and BEC, so I had to start all over. I just want to be done.
Congrats! I passed back in May so I hadn’t been checking the blogs or web sites in a while, but something today made me remember your struggles and give you web site a check. I knew you had 1 more to go and I’m glad you got it. Prepare for the incredible amount of extra free time to spend with your wife and kids! It is a truly great feeling to be ‘done’ and i am glad you have finally acheived this. Take care!
congrats – glad you finally made it. I do have a question for you. This was your lowest grade and not a lot of room to spare – was this because of the material of not the same prep time. I am in the process of studying for FAR now. Is there any suggestions you would have for me. I am using Yeagar study course. I took BEC and made an 80
This was your lowest grade and not a lot of room to spare – was this because of the material of not the same prep time.
I think two factors contributed to it being close. One, I ran out of time while studying and was weak on the last section: not for profit accounting. I didn’t work any of the assigned questions. I simply ran out of time. I could only glance over my notes. I procrastinated early on almost paid for it. While I watched the not for profit lectures, I didn’t work the questions, which are a critical part of the program. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt me that bad apparently.
The second contributing factor to me cutting it close was that I only had like 15 minutes or so two work on the 2nd simulation – and most of that was spent on the written communication and the first tab. I left 3 tabs blank – including the research tab. If they graded the 2nd sim (and I bet that they did because the first sim was over a weird topic) – then there you go.
My guess is that I was doing well enough on the MCQs to get me through my terrible 2nd sim.
If you have the Yaeger program – you have the best (and most affordable) on the market. I haven’t had one complaint from anyone who took my advice and bought Yaeger. Good luck!
Thanks – I think I feel a little better. I am on my second to last DVD and am not taking the test until Jan 2. I will have plenty of time to review the questions. And I am going to write down time allowed for each section as soon as I sit down to hopefully give me a little more time on the last SIM.
I agree that I do like Yaegar. I felt confident (as much as you can feel confident) when I finished the BEC section that I passed. It is funny I started doing what you went to of writing all my notes on legal pads. However half way through – I switched and started writing my notes directly onto flash cards. For me it is easier to review flash cards at the end the reread all my notes. I can discard the one I know and only spend time on the ones I still can not get into my hard head
. Then the day of the test – I ran through all the cards that I still were having problems with.
Ahh I want my Reg score from 10/6! Just took BEC today, hope I’ll be fine…only spent two weeks on it.
Hey 71,
could you please research and try to find any info about when scores for Oct/Nov in CA will be released. Do you realize I took REG a month before you took FAR and you got your score before me. We really need to know why we in CA are not getting our scores.
Thanks
Vegasboy
Vegas -
There is no rhyme or reason as to why I have my score and you don’t. CA doesn’t have them because the AICPA is holding them – for whatever tortuous reason.
When I sat for REG in August (late August) in the July/August window, I received my score the same day in September that my co-worker who sat for the same exam on July 3rd. He waited over 10 weeks. Needless to say, he was angry about it.
That same co-worker also sat for FAR in early October…and doesn’t have his FAR score either.
Hang in there…I know it’s hard to do anything (sleep…eat…work) when you’re waiting on those two numbers.
Congrats Jeff! I am so happy for you! Pls give the wife and kids mighty kisses and hugs for standing by you these past 3 years! I know it probably was not easy for all of you! You should be proud! Also, you should be proud that you have helped and encouraged a whole bunch of folks (esp the married with kids ones!) including myself! Pls do not stop this blog and keep posting on CPANet.com. Thanks again and all the best with the next phase of your life!!
Congrats!!!! =)
Finally got a passing score on FAR after countless tries with Becker. I tried Yaeger’s CRAM after reading your site and now I’ve got that monkey off my back. Congrats on passing to everyone who did, and to those who didn’t keep pushing forward because you absolutely CAN do it.
Great job and congratulations!
Congratulations! May God’s mercy continue to cover you and your family.
Congratulations! Your blog is great inspiration for those days when I just want to give up! Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you again!!
Also save this blog for you kids too! I’m sure they will have days when they want to give up but because of what you have accomplished and documented, they will have no excuses lol.
Congratulations!!!!
You are a true example for perseverance pays!!!
This is goalcpa from CPA forum
I know I’m late, but congratulations dude. I knew you could do it!
Thanks Brandon (and everyone!)
Dude congrats. I just checked this blog after a long absence, and it was great to see you passed. I know how that 76 feels. I got a 76 on REG, and I was literally dancing in the street next to my mailbox. Get that ethics test over with and you’ll be on easy street soon enough.
Congratulations! I haven’t been to your site in a couple months, this is great to hear. I’ll make sure to keep checking back. What is your next endeavor?
What is your next endeavor?
Thanks Mike! My next plan is to become a Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor…that type of stuff is my passion. We’re on Baby Step 3-ish.
In my opinion, the waiting period more tormenting than the exam itself. Insomnia kicked in right after I took my last part, I took FARE on 11/11/08 and didn’t get my score until 12/19/08. Those one and a half months were truly a test. Alot was a stake, essentially the house of cards was going to cramble if I didnt pass FARE. BEC had expired 11/12/09 right after sitting FARE on 11/11/09, AUD was scheduled to evaporite on 1/9/09, and REG going up in fumes shortly after. Essentially I was doomed, but with plenty of prayers and support from my wife, I emerged successful. Morale? All out their, say you prayer every morning, study like crazy, and leave the other stuff to God. And kabang, you will emerge victorious. Anynomous scored REG:86 (5/18/08), BEC:80 (7/5/07), AUD:80 (7/12/07), FARE:78 11/11/08.
I just came across your blog and its a wonderful read . just wnated ti thank you the work you are doing on sharing your experiences with the CPA exam . I have just begun my journey on the CPA exam . I cleared BEc and have aud to go next on april 27th . ur blog is very helpful to newcomeres like me
Thanks Again
Finally! Why should people take advice from someone who clearly doesn't know how to properly prepare himself for the exam? Food for thought.
Sorry But this is going to be LONG….I am finally done….My story goes like this…Took FAR right after college, passed, took Audit next window, passed, Took BEC next window passed….now you might be thinking….wtf? Will I took reg….74….took it again…74…at this point I lost FAR…..I then took REG again and Finally got an 86….I took FAR…..FAILED>….my spirit was broken…working at a big busy firm didn’t help in addition a nice bonus and exam fee reimbursement was waiting if I passed the exam before I have been working two years at this firm…well, that came and went and so did my drive.. I felt my life was spiraling outta control…I was doubting my abilities and Career choice….Did i just waste 5 years of college and a ton of cash taking a test I couldn’t pass…….During this time my daughter was born…I left public accounting….My BEC score was going to expire 12/31/09…I decided to take FAR again. I was scared even though I passed it once..I also failed it pretty badly….I took the exam and never looked back and today I check my score online to reveal an 81…I am finally done……Thank you to this site and reading other peoples stores really helped……To everyone out there, It can get rough…just stay strong….the feeling at the end is great….FREE AT LAST………
So, I just took FAR and am positive that I failed. I plan to sit for it again in early March but this time around would like to utilize Yaeger since so many people have vouched for it. I’m not sure if I should sign up for the Home Study FAR section or if I should get the CRAM review … do both of these work through numerous MCQ’s and do you think that the CRAM review would be sufficient if I’ve already gone through all the Becker lectures & MCQ’s? Please help! Thanks!
…typo above…I meant to say I plan to sit for it again in early April… any advice will be helpful =]
Thanks!
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