In this SuperfastCPA podcast interview, you’ll hear how Tim was juggling his master’s degree, working, planning a wedding, and studying for his CPA exams.
He only had a few hours a day to dedicate to CPA study, so he knew he had to be highly efficient with every hour. In this interview you’ll hear all his tips and tricks that allowed him to crush the CPA exams, even though he was extremely busy.
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Master your study process by attending one of our free study training workshops:
https://www.superfastcpa.com/study-secrets/
Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 Intro
- 03:37 How Tim Decided to Get Into CPA
- 04:35 The Time Tim Decided to Pursue His CPA
- 06:41 Found SuperfastCPA and Applying It to the CMA Exams
- 08:02 Took BEC in Five Weeks After Passing the CMA Exams
- 08:59 Juggling a Lot of Things While Studying for the CPA Exams
- 10:24 Getting Better Grades in the AUD CPA Exams Than in Class
- 12:10 Found REG to be the Hardest and Ended Up Rescheduling
- 15:59 Passed FAR Two Weeks Before His Wedding
- 22:08 Tim Was Glad Didn’t Have to Sacrifice Things That Matter to Him
- 25:19 Realized That He Didn’t Want to 100% Becker’s Dashboard
- 27:07 Tim’s Daily Study Routine Process
- 30:58 Test Day Experience
- 32:36 How Tim Tackled the Sims for His Study
- 36:29 How He Coped When Having a Difficult Time with the Harder Topics
- 40:04 Incorporating the Study Tools Throughout the Day
- 44:07 Things Tim Did After Finally Passing the CPA Exams
- 48:58 Glad He Was Able to Pass the CMA As Well
- 50:04 The PRO Course Worked Well Even with the CMA Exams
- 52:23 Dealing with Difficult Topics Using Flashcards
- 55:42 Top Tips for People Still Struggling with their Study Process
Interview Transcript
Tim: And I think it’s important to note that at the same time that I was doing this, I was taking a full maxed out class scheduled to get my 150 units. I was commuting 30 minutes to college. Um, I went to Cal Baptist, um, which is in California.
And I was also, um, six months away from getting married. And so, um, we were beginning to plan. Yeah, we were beginning to plan. And, and after I finished my classes, I would go and I’d work in the tutoring center. I did a financial peer coaching and I did accounting tutoring and business tutoring and finance tutoring.
And so, and I think I was TA-ing as well for, for professor. So it was like the hours were, I would go to like the college early at like 6:30 a.m. I would do my two hours of studying or hour and a half. And then I would go class, class, class, and then I would do school, like, like, not school, but, um, the stuff in the tutoring [00:01:00] center, um, till the end of the day, basically.
And so most days I would be there from, like, 6:30 a.m. to, like, sometimes 8 p.m. at night, and then drive home. And so, it was kind of crazy, um, and that’s how it was up until I graduated at the end of April.
Logan: Welcome to another episode of the CPA exam experience podcast from SuperfastCPA, I’m Logan and in today’s interview, you’re going to hear Nate and I talking to Tim.
Tim has a pretty cool story. And I think this is a great podcast episode that I’m going to direct people to because a lot of people have questions about the CMA exam when it comes to the CPA exam and the SuperfastCPA materials.
We get questions all the time like, Hey, do you guys have materials for the CMA exam? Or can I use your materials and your strategies for the CMA exam? And it turns out according to Tim, yes, you can definitely use the SuperfastCPA strategies for the CMA [00:02:00] exam and you’ll hear that in his interview.
Tim is someone that started studying for the CPA exam before he had even finished his schooling. And before he even did the CPA exam, he did the CMA exam. And he was able to pass the first CMA exam by himself, but then he failed the second part and he was kind of looking around, prepping for taking the CPA exam and he found SuperfastCPA. And he figured, you know what, before I even jump into CPA, I’m going to start studying for the CMA exam.
And so he used the SuperfastCPA PRO course ideas and strategies to take the CMA exam. Passed that, and then right after that, he went and studied for BEC. Passed BEC and you’ll see throughout this interview that he did really well. He was very busy. He was doing school. He was working a lot of the time as a tutor or as a TA. And especially he was planning a wedding. He was going to get married in six months.
So he had a big motivation to be done with the CPA exam before he got married, because he didn’t want to have to be worrying about that when he first got married. And again, as you’ll see in this interview, he did awesome. He passed all of [00:03:00] his exams and he found out that he passed just a few weeks before he got married.
So he was able to do it, and this interview is just an awesome interview. I think you’re going to love it so let’s get to it. But just before we jump in just one reminder to everybody to go check out our free one hour webinar training on superfastcpa.com. This is something that a lot of people see. This is a lot of times the thing that people watch before they become members of SuperfastCPA, because we will teach you the key ingredients to passing the CPA exam.
And from there, of course, people like to purchase it. So make sure you go check that out. Again, it’s only one hour, it is free, and it will be super helpful. And with all that said, let’s dive straight into the interview with Tim.
How Tim Decided to Get Into CPA
Nate: Going back to the beginning, how did you get into accounting and then decide to do the CPA?
Tim: Yeah. Um, honestly I, I wanted to do like business type stuff. Um, but I realized that the, the jobs were not strong in business or finance. And so, my, my dad and my grandpa were both CPAs, um, partners at firms. Um, and [00:04:00] so I kind of had seen their, their, um, time that they had and how they were successful and I was like, Hey, like, why don’t I just learn this accounting stuff and then see where that leads me.
Um, and that’s kind of what happened. And so when I realized that I wanted to do accounting as my major in school, um, it pretty soon became, how do I get the 150 unit requirement? How do I get the CPA tests complete? Um, how do I get the, the best internship that I can get? Um, and that was kind of my, my focus, uh, during that time.
Logan: Cool.
The Time Tim Decided to Pursue His CPA
Logan: So, so from when did you, when did you start studying for the CPA? Was it during school? Was it right after you got your 150? When did it started?
Tim: So, um, I don’t know when this, like, came into effect. I’m in California, but I, I, I heard something about, um, they would allow you to start taking the exams six months before you graduate with your bachelor’s degree. And it seemed like that was a [00:05:00] more, yeah, that was a more recent, um, I guess requirement that they, they made, or I guess they allowed.
Um, and so when I heard that, I was like, okay, I, I should probably start looking into this thing. And so I think during the, the latter end of my junior year of, of college, um, I was like, Okay, I should probably be thinking about this. Or even before that, I was doing some work for Becker, um, representing them on the campus.
And so I kind of had, that’s kind of how I learned about that requirement. And I was like, okay, Becker would give me the free CPA materials, or they would give me the free, um, CMA, which is the Certified Management Accountant. And, um, at that point, I had an internship with KPMG and I knew that if they would give me a full time offer, they would give me the CPA materials on Becker.
And so I said, Hey, I’ll try to take this CMA test with the Becker free materials. And so that summer after in between my [00:06:00] internship. Between my junior and senior year, I took the CMA exams. Um, and I took part one and I did well. And then I took part two and I didn’t pass part two by like 10 points. And so then I was like, okay, well, I guess I’ll just, maybe I’ll try that again another time.
But what I knew was then going into my first semester of my senior year, I needed to get the ball rolling with the requirements. And I knew that when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I would have 151 units to meet the 150 requirement. And so I said, Okay, um, let’s get the ball rolling with the, in California, it’s called the CBA, and then you have to do it with like a universal, um, countrywide organization as well, the NASBA, I think.
Found SuperfastCPA and Applying It to the CMA Exams
Tim: And so, I got that stuff going in like November. And then I said, I think that was around the time that I started listening to your guys’s stuff, like the SuperfastCPA podcasts. And I was like, this sounds like pretty good like these, uh, I guess, study, study tips and methods, um, sounds pretty good. And so I said, [00:07:00] um, during that time, once I had, I was able to schedule my CPA tests, I was like, I think I’m going to do it.
And so I paid for the, the PRO, um, PRO tips, um, package and the, Yeah, the PRO course. And then also all the materials and kind of just the bundle that you guys have. And before I had a little bit of time and I was like, Hey, I’m going to go back to the go back to the CMA test real quick before I jump onto CPA.
And so I said, Why don’t I apply the Superfast PRO course methods to study for that, even though I don’t have all the materials just to try it out. Um, you know, that’s kind of why I did the CMA partially because you’re able to get it for free as a college student, like all the tests. And then you’re also, although I had to pay to take it again, but that’s okay.
And I got the study materials for free. So I was like, Hey, why don’t I just give it a shot again using Becker CMA? Using the Superfast, um, PRO course tips, and I was able to pass it, um, [00:08:00] in a, I think like three weeks, maybe.
Took BEC in Five Weeks After Passing the CMA Exams
Tim: And then, um, after that, I was like, okay, now it’s time to take BEC, which at the time was a year away from getting, um, taken out.
And so I was like, I want to knock this one out first. Um, and that was the same exact material as those CMA tests.
Nate: Yeah, I was gonna ask that.
Tim: Yeah. So there was a lot of crossover and I ended up doing really well. I, I think I studied for BEC for like five weeks maybe. And I think I got like a 93 on it and I was using the, the Superfast, um, materials, um, as well in, in like with the Becker materials, but I, I quickly, like, I don’t know if you guys specifically say not to take the, all these exams in between that Becker has, but I took one and I was like, I’m not feeling this.
And so I, after that, I didn’t take a single one after that the whole time. Um, I just kind of did the daily things.
Juggling a Lot of Things While Studying for the CPA Exams
Tim: And [00:09:00] I think it’s important to note that at the same time that I was doing this, I was taking a full maxed out class scheduled to get my 150 units. I was commuting 30 minutes to college. Um, I went to Cal Baptist, um, which is in California.
And I was also, um, six months away from getting married. And so, um, we were beginning to plan. Yeah, we were beginning to plan. And, and after I finished my classes, I would go and I’d work in the tutoring center. I did a financial peer coaching and I did accounting tutoring and business tutoring and finance tutoring.
And so, and I think I was TA-ing as well for, for professor. So it was like the hours were, I would go to like the college early at like 6:30 a.m. I would do my two hours of studying or hour and a half. And then I would go class, class, class, and then I would do school, like, like, not school, but, um, the stuff in the tutoring [00:10:00] center, um, till the end of the day, basically.
And so most days I would be there from, like, 6:30 a.m. to, like, sometimes 8 p.m. at night, and then drive home. And so, it was kind of crazy, um, and that’s how it was up until I graduated at the end of April. And so, uh, I went and I took, so I took BEC. That was the beginning of February, 2023.
Getting Better Grades in the AUD CPA Exams Than in Class
Tim: And then I took, um, next I took audit, which I was in the middle of the audit class at that time.
Um, and so I hadn’t actually finished the class. Um, I ended up doing better on the audit CPA exam than I did on the audit test final, but that’s okay. It ended up being fine. But, um, I, I was studying for that test. And so I spent like another five or six weeks after that to take audit and same, same ordeal.
Um, you know, studying in the morning, um, I would listen to the audio notes as I was driving back and forth on my commute to school. [00:11:00] I would, in between classes, I would sometimes review the, the notes on the app or take the quizzes. I think those things are really helpful. Um, and yeah, I would just the big thing was just jamming through multiple choice.
I didn’t really touch the sims either until like right before, like the two weeks before I took the exam, which maybe is a little crazy. But, um, I started looking at the sims a little later each time. And then we had, uh, KPMG paid for my, like the whole Becker package. And so I got this thing called final review.
And that was the only time that I would listen to lectures, um, because they were very, um, summarized and they were also, I could put them on two times speed and just kind of like in the days leading up to my exam, I could just kind of take them really quick. Um, so I, that was the only time that I really listened to lectures.
Um, I think that’s one thing that you guys say not, not really to focus on more, so focus on multiple choice. And I think that was very helpful for me. Um, so yeah, I audit, BEC. [00:12:00] I took audit and I think I got like a 79. So that was not as good as the 93 from before. Um, but that’s okay.
Logan: But you passed, it doesn’t matter.
Found REG to be the Hardest and Ended Up Rescheduling
Tim: So, um, and it gets, it gets crazier than that, but, um, it gets more of a close call, but then after that, I was like, I’m gonna take REG and I scheduled REG for two days after my college graduation which was probably like eight, six, six to eight weeks after I took audit. And I said, okay, I’m going to try to do this, but it got really busy leading up to graduation. And REG was the more challenging, probably the most challenging for me. I was like, cause I I’m going to do, I’m doing audit now at KPMG.
That’s, that’s what I interned in. I, I did an internship in tax, but it was like, at this point a year and a half before that I’d worked at a tax firm. That was two plus years before that. I hadn’t touched this stuff in a while. My tax class was also a long time before that. And so I think REG was the most challenging for [00:13:00] me because of those aspects and because I was really, you know, trying to focus on audit and preparing for my career in that.
And so when it got close to my graduation, I was like, Oh man, like. I can’t, I’m not even through all this material. Like I don’t want to do this. And so I had to pay like, I don’t know, 30 bucks or 50 bucks to reschedule, which wasn’t the end of the world. Um, and so I rescheduled it, um, about like three or four weeks later.
And I actually took it in the middle of May. Um, on my birthday, uh, I said, Hey, at least I can take the day off, um, work and be able to take the exam and then enjoy myself after and kind of spend time with family. And so as we got closer to that point, I was still doing these things, but I had graduated college and I actually had like a month off before I started working for a, kind of had like a job in between my KPMG.
And so I think it actually became harder for me without the structure. So I was still doing those things like the [00:14:00] two hours, but it was, I don’t know, I feel like I missed a day here and there. And I think just the, there was some nervousness about taking REG because I felt the least prepared.
And that was where I honestly had to give it to God. And I had to say, Hey God, like I’m, I’m letting this go. Um, I’m trusting you if I don’t get this done. And I’m, and the whole goal was to get it done before I got married in July. So that’s kind of the context. And I talked to some people who were like, yeah, you have to do that.
I talked to some other people that said, you’re crazy. Um, in so many words, um, but I have literally had to give it to God. And I had to say, Hey, This is, this is it. You know, if I don’t pass, I trust you, you know, maybe I’ll have to take them while I’m married. It might be. But, um, and so I went and I took that exam and I came out of it having no idea how I was going to do, but I just said, Hey, I’m going to trust God.
And Hey, if you, I kind of prayed. I was like, you know, if, if you helped me to pass this, like, like make it clear that it was you, not me. And so [00:15:00] then I just went back to the, to the drawing board and I went.
Logan: I can guess the score.
Tim: So it was kind of crazy, but it actually strengthened my faith a bit, but I went back to take FAR and then I said, Okay, I’ll look at the score when it comes out.
And that’s the other thing. Um, at this point, you could still kind of take the test or schedule the test so you can get the scores really quickly. I know that’s not the case now, but I hear.
Logan: That was last year.
Tim: Everything’s changing soon, but I think, um, I got the scores a few weeks later and I got a 76 and it wasn’t a 75, but it was still like, oh, shoot.
Thank you, Lord. Like, I guess not really, you know, if it wouldn’t have happened, I would have trusted. Got in the next steps, but it was kind of a real big blessing, um, for me that, that I got that. And I said, Hey, I don’t have to touch this REG tax stuff again.
Logan: Mm hmm,
Even later
Tim: I’m auditing a tax provision for a client, but that’s, that’s okay. We had like, we had a whole tax team helping us with that. So that was okay.
Passed FAR Two Weeks Before His Wedding
Tim: [00:16:00] But, um, so then I, I was like, okay, now it’s time to take FAR, which was the last one. And I actually felt like all right about that. Cause I had been tutoring accounting and FAR is, fAR is more advanced, but I had the basics pretty down because I’d been spending a year spending so many hours teaching these, these basic concepts.
And so I think I took another, I don’t know, six or six to eight weeks. Um, I mean, I, I took, I think I took it at the end of June. So it was like a month and a half, um, when I took FAR and that was three weeks before my wedding. And so at the same time, I’m looking for, we’re looking for apartments to move to.
Um, doing the final preparations, you know, doing different like bachelor type trips and stuff like that. And so it was kind of crazy. And I had started work at the beginning of June, um, working 32 hours a week, um, in a government position, government accounting office. And so I was back to doing the, [00:17:00] the 6:30 a.m. study sessions before work. Um, this time, no school, but before work. And, and it was nice because I was working with some people that had taken the CPA exams. And so I was able to talk to them and they were able to ask, Oh, Hey, how’s it going with this? Like different things. And that was kind of cool. Um, and so I took it.
And I think like at this point, it was like two weeks before the wedding. I got my score and it was at 83. And so I said, okay, I’m done. Um, and that was it. And ever since then, I’ve been, uh, not thinking about CPA exams, except for when my, my, my peers ask me.
Logan: Yeah.
Tim: You know, there’s people who are starting at KPMG, people that were at my college and they’ll ask, Oh, Hey, like, how’d you do these things?
Um, and I said, Hey, by the grace of God, and also I highly recommend that you watch this SuperfastCPA podcast because
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Tim: It’s going to say everything that, [00:18:00] I could just tell you, um, but it’d be better if you just watch this thing. And, um, I think the concepts really are helpful. Um, having everything summarized one, and then just also applying those PRO course tips, I think were huge.
Um, and yeah, I had to pay a little bit, um, cause I didn’t have to pay for anything else besides your guys package. But I said, Hey, I’m going to invest in this because I want to knock these things out, um, before I, I get married and before I start full time. Um, and yeah, that’s what happened.
Logan: That’s awesome.
Nate: Yeah. Uh, I got a few questions in there. So I guess first, clearly you sat down at some point, watched the PRO course videos and got clear on the strategies, but where you were in college and you were going from CPA study straight to, you know, college study, I mean, what things were in there [00:19:00] that were any different than like, what, what things were new ideas to you from the PRO course compared to what you’d
Tim: Yeah, I think, um, the way that you guys spell it out is specifically dialed in for the, the different courses that, you know, you have, like, I don’t know, Becker, Surgent, Rogers, like all those different ones. And I think like, like the idea of like skipping the lecture, you can’t do that in college, obviously.
Um, but, um, these, these courses that we have, they allow you to have that flexibility to choose kind of what you want. And so in my college studies, fortunately, my, my course load was full, but it was, I had left some of my easier classes, um, for that final semester. So they weren’t all like hardcore accounting.
I, I did a finance minor, all of, I took like, I just, for fun, I took like the basic finance class, personal finance, um, just, just for fun because I had already picked all my. I’d already taken all my classes that [00:20:00] were harder. And so I was able to kind of cruise through those classes, fortunately. Um, and so then my big focus was the CPA test and honestly, the professors, but sometimes there were professors that would see me there at 6:30 a.m. in the business building.
And cause I had a class at like 8:15, two days a week. I had a class at 8:45 the other, you know, two or three days of the week. And the professors, I don’t know if they thought I was like working on, like their work or something, but they were always like, they would say hi and stuff. And I appreciated it.
Um, and if they would have asked, I would have told them what I was doing. I think maybe the accounting professors knew, but, um, it was kind of a, like, my focus was ultimately getting those tests done. And I think my school kind of took a backstep as long as I was passing the classes, um, and being able to graduate, which at that point I had so many units that like, I probably, I probably could have, botched some of those classes, but I mean, it was good that I didn’t, so I could keep all those units.
Nate: Yeah. I mean, being done before you, so [00:21:00] you found out you had passed a few weeks before your wedding?
Tim: Yeah, I actually, we, we did like a, a bachelor’s trip with my, I had like four other groomsmen and we went to Utah, um, to a cabin and the day after that trip, um, was when I got my scores. Um, so that was, I think, maybe 12 days, 13, 14 days before the wedding. So yeah, about two weeks. Um, so, you know, if it didn’t, if I didn’t pass FAR, um, I would have just hit pause for a month and then revisited it.
Um, but thankfully that’s not what happened.
Logan: What, what part of
Tim: Utah?
Um, it was near Bryce Canyon.
Logan: Oh, Hey, I actually, I live pretty close to that area.
Tim: Oh, that’s awesome.
Logan: I live in southern Utah. We’re, we’re, we’re both, Nate and I are both in Utah, just different parts of Utah, But Byrce Canyon is awesome.
Tim: Yeah, my buddy has a cabin in Hatch, Utah. Um, which is a small little town out there, but, um, it was his [00:22:00] grandparents, so he let us use it and it was awesome to be out there, for sure.
Nate: So like hiking that’s you guys were hiking?
Tim Was Glad Didn’t Have to Sacrifice Things That Matter to Him
Tim: Yeah. And that’s a, that’s a big thing for me. Um, me and my buddies like to go out and hike. Um, but so while I was taking the exams, um, I had a, you know, the guy was my best man in my wedding, him and I, we would hike every Saturday. And so most of the time during that exam taking season, um, I would continue to do that, um, which was, I think, a really good outlet.
Um, the other thing that I would continue to do is we had a, a Sunday night, um, young adults, um, group at church. And I really made an effort to make as many of those as possible because it was super good to have a community of people with the same values who had really come alongside me, um, during the season.
And so that was, that was really important. And then I had some stuff at school related to my faith as well. Um, and then obviously going to church services, but I really made an effort not to [00:23:00] compromise on those things, um, because they were important to me, um, more important than the CPA exam, um, or graduating for that matter.
And then the hiking was just a good physical, physical outlet. Um, but that’s what I liked about this, this program, um, because you guys really say don’t, don’t really, I mean, yeah, you need to focus on the exams, but if you’re knocking out your study sessions, um, you don’t have to really compromise as much as maybe the trying to get the 100 percent on Becker, like guaranteed that you pass thing that they have, which I think you can do. And I tell people like, yeah, if you want to guarantee that you’re going to pass, like go do that thing, but it’s going to take you way more time and you’re going to have to give up way more things and it’s going to, I don’t know.
Logan: And even then it’s not a guarantee even with that, that’s, that’s the, what, you know, the most, that’s what gets people so frustrated is they do exactly what you just said, a hundred percent on all the Becker stuff or whatever their course [00:24:00] is, and then they still go fail. Um, and they spent, you know, hundreds of hours, potentially studying for that exam. And, but I really appreciate what you’re saying there. Cause I felt the same way that, you know, I was super busy when I was doing this. I was, uh, you know, a young father, master’s degree, working, all those things, very busy, like yourself. And I really appreciated still having time for life. Like I was still able to, it wasn’t a lot of time, but I still had some time to do stuff.
And, uh, yeah, I think that’s the big, a big difference there, you know, like, yeah, you still have to sacrifice a little, but you were able to still maintain your faith, maintain some hobbies, like going hiking and you were, and you were, I’m sure you were busy with your fiance doing stuff with her, like, you know, doing activities with her.
And I’m sure you were just super busy and, but you were able to do it.
And that, that’s what we’re kind of, what the whole point of all this is.
Nate: Yeah. I kinda hate this phrase because my dad would always say this to me growing up. But the discipline really gives you a lot of freedom, you know, [00:25:00] being highly disciplined specifically to the CPA study, nailing your main session in the morning. And then, you know, you can study from your phone and make another big difference throughout the day.
But yeah, then you have, you’re freed up. As long as you do, that your evenings, most of your weekends, you know, you can still do that kind of stuff. Yeah.
Realized That He Didn’t Want to 100% Becker’s Dashboard
Nate: Uh, one thing I was going to ask, did you worry about the Becker dashboard? Cause you use Becker, were you trying to get, you know, all green, get it all filled out 100%?
Tim: Yeah, so, um, when I decided that I wasn’t really going to mess around with the lectures and not hit a lot of the sims either, um, I kind of said, I don’t really care about this thing anymore. Um, I did care I think there’s like a, like a percentage for multiple choice. Um, and I think I cared more about that.
Um, making sure that I, I got that thing closed out. Um, but it’s interesting because there’s a contrast between when I first took the CMA exams using the Becker and my goal was to [00:26:00] get a hundred percent, um, on everything. And, um, I think if I would have done that on the last exam that I failed for that one before I went and I retook it using Superfast methods, um, I think I would have passed, but I kind of rushed through everything, but really it was pretty, it took a lot of time and I wasn’t doing anything during those few weeks when I first took this CMA and so it was fine.
Um, but I definitely liked the idea of not being dependent on getting that 100 percent complete thing. Um, cause it just, I felt like there was so much, my, my brain was like almost fried with so much, um, stuff, you know, and it felt like it was just a lot of wasted time versus the, you know, I heard about this like 20, 80, 80, 20 principle.
And like, I feel like just doing the multiple choice and focusing on that and not worrying about the whole percentage, um, kind of goes a long way towards that. I guess 80 percent um, benefit on 20 percent of the effort. Maybe, I mean, maybe that’s not exactly, [00:27:00] but.
Nate: Yes. Right.
Logan: With, uh, with the, you mentioned the multiple choice questions and kind of having that be your main focus.
Tim’s Daily Study Routine Process
Logan: What did your, so you mentioned a busy schedule when you sat down to study, what did that look like? What did you, cause you it seems like you had SuperfastCPA pretty much from the beginning with the CPA studying. So yeah, what did that look like for you when you sat down to study?
Tim: So as soon as I started my, my spring semester, um, which was like, I don’t know, mid January, um, I, every day, almost, I mean, I’d say yeah. Five days a week was the goal here and there, there were days that were missed, but for the most part, it was the five Monday through Friday. I would go in, um, I’d leave home at like 6 a.m. and I would go to like the business building and they had this little room with computers and I would hole up in there and, um, I would just grind it out. So I would, normally I’d focus on the multiple choice. Um, I think I had like a, I [00:28:00] basically when, whenever I started an exam, I kind of printed out like a calendar and I said, okay, I need to get through these sections at this time because I had my, my exam, at least for the first two, I had the exam already, um, scheduled after that it was more, I guess, flexible, but when I had, I think I started and I had BEC and I had audit scheduled and I, cause I, I bought all of them on one ticket and then I went ahead and I, yeah, I think that’s, yeah, that’s how I did it.
So, so I had this goal of, Hey, I want to get through this amount each day. You know, I don’t know if it was like one section or two sections of the multiple choice and I’d spend like an hour, hour and a half on that. And then I’d go back and do the, the, the re-review where I took all, all the sections that I’d gone through so far.
And then I would take, do like a 30 question, multiple choice. And, um, I think at first that was, that was an, uh, harder thing because sometimes I would [00:29:00] do not as well. Other times I would do well. And it kind of, I was like, ah, shoot, like no good. But, um, I think overall that was huge. And I think that’s like advising that I think is a big, uh, differentiator that you guys have versus anything that I’ve heard and it just makes so much sense.
Because when I took those CMA exams before, like, I would study everything, going for the 100%, and then a few days before the exam, I’d be like, oh, shoot, this stuff at the beginning, I don’t remember any of it, you know, and so, uh, way that, the way that that re-review, it just was huge, along with, uh, you know, covering the concepts and the uh, In the, in the audio notes and the quizzes and the, the reading notes, it’s just the re-review I think was critical towards being able to knock those things out without like just losing everything that you put all this work into.
Nate: Yeah. That’s a huge thing. It’s yeah. People, again, like you said, when you’re trying to watch every [00:30:00] video to the point that you feel like you understood it and read the chapter, and then look at the MCQs, that takes so much time and it wears you out and you’re just, every day you’re like rewriting or you’re recording over your short term memory from the day before, basically, and then you’re, whatever it is, five to seven or eight weeks removed from, you know, the first stuff you studied.
There’s just a lot of things there that logically, okay, now it makes sense why so many people fail. Whereas the re-review thing is just, yeah, it’s huge. Uh, like you said, just, it just makes sense. This stuff I’m spending so much time trying to learn in the first place. Not only to remember it, but constantly re-hitting it gives you that like much deeper level understanding where you have this like functional command of it by the time you get to test day.
Logan: Yeah. And, and, and not only that, it like, make sure you’re good at multiple choice questions.
Test Day Experience
Logan: And I want to ask about the [00:31:00] Sims in a second, but the first, but before that, since you were practicing multiple choice questions, mostly, how did that translate to test day? Like on test day, were you getting through them pretty quickly? How did, how did that go?
Tim: Yeah. Yeah. It was interesting. Cause I, at this point, like I, despite the fact that I went four for four on the CPA exams, I felt like I had spent a lot of time in those, those test center places because I had taken the I had been there three times before for the CMA exams and so it was like I was familiar with Prometric and all that, but it was interesting because I’d always try to time where I was at. And when I took BEC, I think I had like a ton of time and I took, but I think some of them, like it was like down to the wire, but part of the reason was because on some, I would like still spend too much time on the multiple choice just because I was like, Oh shoot. Like, did I do it right?
But other times, like I really would try to look at the clock and time it out. And I think the majority of the time, the sims [00:32:00] probably, I left more time for the sims.
Um, one, because I needed time to flesh out, um, how to best respond, you know, at least get some points because my strong suit I think was the multiple choice, um, overall. And yeah, it’s like, yeah.
Nate: Mm-hmm.
Logan: And, and I think that that kind of needs to be everybody’s strong point. You should still be strong at the sims, hopefully, but being strong at multiple choice questions just helps in everything. Cause if you are good at multiple choice questions, you’re going to score well on them, but also you’ll probably be pretty quick at them and then you’ll have tons of times for the sims.
How Tim Tackled the Sims for His Study
Logan: Uh, bringing up the sims, you kind of mentioned you didn’t study them too much, except for maybe a little bit before, what was your strategy with the sims?
Cause I think a lot of people have said something similar. It is kind of saving the sims till close to the exam, so.
Tim: Yeah. I think for me, like the multiple choice, which is more straightforward to study and sims are kind of all over the place. And so I was like, this thing is like not [00:33:00] really productive right now. So kind of, I’m trying to remember, cause like, I know there might’ve been some weekends where I hit, hit sims a little bit, but most of the time, like it would be like the few weeks before when I went to the final review and the final review had sims.
And those ones I would go through, like if I got anything close to a hundred percent, it was the multiple choice in that final review, but I didn’t even take the exams for the final review. It was more so I’m going to listen to the lectures at two times speed while I’m probably doing something else. Um, I’m going to take the multiple choice, which is a, it’s kind of a summarized thing, like I’d already been doing on my own, and then I’m going to do the sims on those final reviews.
Um, so that was more so my strategy and I felt like, uh, if, if for some reason, like there was a sim that I looked at during that final review that I was like, I’m not so sure about this. Sometimes I take time to kind of understand it just so I could see that model. And other times I was like, I don’t know if this one’s worth my time and we’ll just see what [00:34:00] happens with that.
Um, so yeah, I’m not a huge fan of the sims to be honest. Um, cause it’s just, you can get anything.
Logan: I don’t anybody is.
Tim: Yeah. Yeah. It’s like you can get any of them, you know? And so like, yeah, you could learn every single type, but it’s like, there’s not a high return on that investment. Um, cause they could throw you something you’ve never seen before.
To, uh,
Logan: Yes. Yeah. I, I think that there’s, we, we always mention this there’s two, uh, high value strategies for the sims and first one is being good at the multiple choice questions cause then you have tons of time for the sims. And then the other strategy is less, kinda like what you are saying like you don’t need to see every single type cause you’ll probably see something different on test day.
But more so atleast having some experience with the sims so you know. okay I see this and I, you know, how to kind of pick it apart, how to kind of break it down so that you can work through it. I think that’s the big skill with sims. Uh, there are some things that are tested only in sims. So, you know, [00:35:00] there could be something with that, but.
Uh, but yeah, the main idea is just knowing how to, how to kind of be comfortable breaking it down, like taking the time to read through the stuff and everything. Uh, just to clarify, were you saying that you only did the sims from Becker’s final review?
So you didn’t even go back and pick certain sims. You just did it from that final review test or how is?
Tim: I think that was, yeah, for the most part, I might have clicked into some here and there. Um, but I think as I took each exam, it got to a point where I was like, yeah, I’m just going to look at the final review ones and kind of not really worry about the other ones. I think there might have been a time where I was like, I’m just curious. I’ll click into this. And then I was like, I don’t want to look at that one anymore.
Nate: The other thing that is big that goes into the sims is that constant re-review throughout your whole process. Because that gives you that, like, I said, just that high, like functional understanding of the topics. And so as [00:36:00] long as you nail the MCQs and you have enough time to sit there and kind of figure out, okay, this sim has like 10 exhibits.
But you have to have time to, like you said, just kind of make sense of it for a minute. And then your, your knowledge of the topic, you can apply it. Um, but yeah, it’s, it’s like a combination of three things and primarily it’s solved before you walk into the testing center. It’s kind of the whole cliche. It goes back to your daily process. Yeah.
How He Coped When Having a Difficult Time with the Harder Topics
Nate: Uh, one thing I was going to ask, so with your REG story, um, I’m assuming when you said, I’m just going to give this up to God, but you were still studying each day, right? It’s, when you say that you’re kind of meaning that you just still didn’t feel great about the material.
And that’s the aspect of, okay, I’m going to keep doing my part and then just see what happens?
Tim: Exactly. So I can be faithful in my side of it, even though I feel like, like multiple times, I would just kind of [00:37:00] like, be like, Oh man, like this one, I’m not sure, you know, but yeah, that’s kind of why pushed my, my, my date back, you know, my, my test date back by a few weeks cause I was like, I need to give this my full effort and right now I’m about to graduate.
Like, I can’t really do that. And so, yeah, I definitely put my, my full effort into it. Um, but it was just wasn’t clicking like maybe some of the other ones were obviously I was taking the audit class at the same time I took audit I took the CMA before I took BEC so I kind of had like a, this one was like there was nothing right before it, you know I hadn’t seen tax in a long time so it was a lot more challenging.
But yeah, I definitely did I was like i’m gonna be faithful in what I can control and i’m gonna trust god with the rest.
Um, and so it was still like definitely putting in the effort, um, um, each day and yeah, I think it was, I think it was harder without having the structure honestly, of the business, [00:38:00] too, but I definitely did still it, it just felt like maybe it wasn’t as, it was more spread out in the sense of, I’m not forced to do it at 6:30 a.m., sometimes I’m doing it at 8am, or 10am, and it just felt like maybe it took me longer sometimes to get through that the same amount of multiple choice questions. Um, just because there wasn’t a hard deadline of classes starting at 8:15.
Um, so that was challenge, but I definitely did. Yeah, I did my part and I was faithful in that.
And thankfully, I trusted God and ended up working out. But if it hadn’t, I would have trusted him still and you know, continue doing stuff.
Logan: But you passed it. Yeah. And I think there’s something to be said about that structure you know. I, I’ve learned this a lot about myself just in general, even outside of the CPA. I, you know, I’m always like, Oh, I can’t wait for, to not to have my day off or whatever, you know? And then, but then if I don’t have something to do, then I just feel like I’m wasting my time and, [00:39:00] uh, I feel like I procrastinate a lot of things.
And I think that’s very true for the CPA is. You have to still kind of make yourself have a structure, no matter what you’re doing, whether that’s work in school or just work or even studying full time, make that a requirement to be kind of disciplined and have a specific time because that will just make it, uh, make it programmed, kind of programmed into you instead of, Oh, I’ll study at 10 o’clock today, but then something happens and you might, and then you don’t study at 10 and you know, things like that.
So I like what you said that, you know, it was kind of harder. You still kind of, still, were able to make it happen.
Nate: And I think the other thing is you had an effective process figured out. That’s a big thing that you know, whatever you were doing, following our strategies and whatever your personal version of it, it worked for your first two exams and then REG the one you had the least kind of background, uh, experience in, you know, felt more confusing throughout it, [00:40:00] but your process still, you know, worked obviously and so.
Incorporating the Study Tools Throughout the Day
Logan: And you, and you kind of mentioned the quiz, like the mini sessions that we have, what was, you kind of mentioned it a little bit already, but what was your, like, when did you listen to audios? When did you take mini quizzes? When did you do read the review notes? How did, how are those helpful?
Tim: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I feel like, you know, depending on the day I was able to dial into it more or less, um, but I, I made an effort to a lot of times when I’d be driving to put that thing on and I was driving a lot, you know, the commute to school was like 30 minutes, um, it could be longer certain days. Um, so I was doing that five days a week.
Um, at that time, my church was 30 minutes in the opposite direction. So I was going out there as much as I could as well on the weekends. And so, uh, I think sometimes I might have listened to that on the way back from those things. It kind of just depended on if I wanted to have a lot of content in my brain, or I just want to [00:41:00] kind of relax and quiet.
But oftentimes, for sure, with school, I was listening to that thing the most. Um, and then, with the, the notes, I think that, the notes or the quizzes I would kind of hit like in between classes in between when I had tutoring appointments. Sometimes I would have people who didn’t show up or would be a little late and so I’d have some time in between.
It was kind of like I think my goal was to like whenever I picked up my phone to look at that thing. Um, I don’t know if I was a hundred percent, um, successful at that, but I think that was a good goal because what I like about the quizzes for one, they’re super, um, quick to do and they’re relatively simple, easy to pull up.
Um, not, not, they’re not simple, but like simplified versions of what maybe you’d have in Becker. And so it, it allows you get some touch points. Um, and same thing with the, with the, the notes, um, I would, I would kind [00:42:00] of scroll through those. I think I would normally try to do like a little bit of notes and then I do a little bit of multiple choice.
And then I call it a day and then hit it again another time during the day. And it’s just kept the stuff on your mind a lot more than just, Oh, I’m studying for a few hours. Okay, I’m not going to hit this again for until tomorrow. Um, and, and it’s nice because it’s also like the, the notes and the quizzes aren’t just on what you’re studying.
They hit stuff that you might see later. Or they might like be stuff that you’ve already seen. And so I think that also helped because it was like, I’m hitting this thing in Becker now, and I’ve, I’ve seen it a little bit. That’s another thing that I think I, I don’t think I mentioned, but Becker does have like a really high level summary, um, that you can print out.
And before I looked at any section, I would skim through that summary, kind of as another touch point, um, and then it would kind of align, I could see how it kind of aligned with what I’d already been reading or listening [00:43:00] to or taking quizzes on. And I think it just, I don’t know, it just allowed for some connections that, that helped, um, as then I was going through the multiple choice.
Nate: Yeah. So with our audios, did you kind of, it sounds like, the way we kind of recommend to use them is just listen to them all the way through, regardless of where you’re at in your Becker, your main course
Tim: Yeah, for the most part, sometimes I think I would select a certain section if I felt like maybe I would want to hit that at the beginning. But really my objective was to just go through it all. Um, I mean, sometimes like, sometimes I would like forget, I think and I’d like re-listen to something cause I was like, Oh shoot like, did I do this one before? But, um, yeah, the goal was to just go straight through. And I think I had seen your guys’s recommendation on that. And so I kind of took that to heart.
Logan: Nice. Yeah. I love the audio notes too. Uh, when I, and when I was doing it and I hope that people don’t mind listening to me now. It’s, it’s [00:44:00] weird. It’s weird. Uh, you know, I would listen to Nate and now there’s people
Tim: That’s funny. Yeah.
Logan: Yeah.
Things Tim Did After Finally Passing the CPA Examsx
Logan: But, uh, with the, so we kind of asked this, I mean, I feel like I kind of already know the answer, but did you do anything to celebrate passing?
You got married. So that’s probably a pretty darn big celebration there, but has there been anything else like specifically about the CPA or was, was it more of the relief of I’m done now? I can just focus on getting married.
Tim: Yeah, I think the big thing was getting married. I don’t think there was really anything too crazy each time. Although, I mean, I think it was nice, like the days that I did take an exam, that then I could kind of relax after that. Although when I was in school, I just went back to class, which was kind of lame.
But it was kind of cool that that last test that I took, um, actually, yeah, the last test, so FAR, I took that, um, in the same area where I believe my, my dad and my grandpa both took their CPA exam. It wasn’t the same testing center, but it was right where they [00:45:00] used to live. And so I thought that was kind of cool.
And then after that, I was able to, my sister was working at a, at a Christian summer camp, um, in the mountains. And so I was able to drive up to there and I was kind of just driving through the mountains. And I was like, Wow. I’m so grateful that these things are, you know, potentially done. And then at the same time, I had told my, my now wife that, Hey, I can’t really look at apartments, um, until I’ve gotten these things done.
And it’s two weeks before getting married. That’s no good. And so a family from, from church had reached out to us saying, Hey, we have this studio and we were like, Oh, like, I don’t know about that. Like we looked at it, it was nice, but it was really small. And then literally the day before I took the FAR test, my last test, the family told us, hey, we also have a one bed that was unavailable until a few days ago when someone backed out and now it’s available.
And so as I was driving to see my sister in the mountains, I [00:46:00] called up that guy and I said, Hey, we’re going to take that apartment. And it was cool because I told my wife, Hey, I’m not going to think about this thing as much until after. And here we are 30 minutes after I took the exam and I’m saying, yes, we’re going to take this apartment without any effort on my part.
Logan: Yeah.
Tim: And so it was a really happy time. And I think I went to like this river and I was like eating a sandwich and I was just like, Oh man, I’m so grateful that, that these things, you know, they might be done. I mean, I’m trusting God again with this one, but you know, at least like I’ve done all that I can do now.
And, um, so there wasn’t like a formal like celebration, but after each test, yeah. Um, I think my mom would like put up like a thing in my room that had like a congratulations you passed or, or like, I, the other thing I had was I had my, my, you know, fiance then wife now write like a letter to me. And then I had some of my mom or my dad write something and then I had my grandma wrote something and I had them all on the wall and they put like Bible verses and stuff.
And so every time that I was studying from home. I could look up and see [00:47:00] those things. Um, and that was a big encouragement, but yeah, no, no crazy celebration. I think, uh, KPMG gives a bonus. Um, so when I was a month or two
Logan: Yes, I’m sure.
Tim: I got a bonus, which was nice, but I ended up using that to pay off, pay off some stuff and ended up knocking out.
The only, I guess, student loans that we had, my wife and I, and so, um, that was a good, that was God’s provision, although I didn’t get to really enjoy those, that bonus money, um, but they, they did reimburse my, um, obviously they paid for Becker, they paid bonus, and then they reimbursed my exam fees. So, um, as long as I paid for the exams up front, then they would cover once I passed.
So it was kind of nice to have that. That was a nice little thing and being able to knock out those, those, um, a little bit of debt that we had was, was huge. I think for us just going into, you know, beginning of marriage, um, feeling good.
Logan: Poor, poor married, yeah, poor young married people.
Tim: Yeah. And we both [00:48:00] went to, you know, private Christian school. And so, um, it was definitely a blessing to be able to say, Hey, like I took these exams. Now we can, we can put that stuff to bed and, and just focus on our marriage now.
Logan: I’m sure your wife has appreciated you being done. Like you didn’t even have to worry about it.
Tim: Yeah, she was supportive, but I definitely like, there was a few times where I was like, Oh man, like I’m so busy. Like, I don’t even know how this thing’s going to go. And she was super encouraging. Um, but I think it was huge being able to like, have our, you know, we, we had like a year anniversary, like a few months ago and it’s like, we didn’t have to do the CPA.
Yeah. I had accounting work and I was in busy season and all that, but like, like that thing would have been just looming over our heads. So yeah, huge blessing.
Nate: Yeah. That, yeah, Just being done, especially with all that stuff you had coming up. That’s Yeah. What a relief. That’s the best part is just being done.
Logan: Yeah.
Tim: Yeah.
Logan: Never having to worry about it. And you’re, and you have the CMA too. So like you’re, you did bunch of stuff too.
Glad He Was Able to Pass the CMA As Well
Tim: Yeah. So, I mean, that was, I [00:49:00] kind of had that idea. It was a crazy idea when I was in my junior year. I was like, Oh man, like I can get this thing paid for, like the organization that puts it out will pay for it. I’ll get the test exam. Like, Oh, why don’t I just give it a shot? And so I said, Hey, I’ll do that.
Um, it’s not as recognized where I’m working now, but, um, I think it’s, there’s a value. Um, just to have it and to have that experience. And the other thing is like my, I felt like my cost accounting class that I took, um, in school, I feel like I didn’t like do as well. I didn’t learn as much in that. And so CMA is a lot of cost accounting stuff.
And so that was another reason why I was like, I’m going to go to KPMG right now. Like I need to know these things maybe, I don’t know. I mean, since then I haven’t really had to know it. But
Logan: Maybe. Yeah.
Tim: I was like, I need to, everyone else is like getting all this stuff done. And so I was like, I need to, so that’s part of the reason why I took the CMA because it focuses more on that versus the CPA focused less on that.
There was some of it, but it wasn’t as much, so
Logan: I’ve, that sounds like all the stuff I would absolutely [00:50:00] despise studying. That was the kind of stuff that I really did not like in school.
The PRO Course Worked Well Even with the CMA Exams
Logan: And you kind of mentioned this a little bit, but I know a lot of people do ask about this. So just one question about this. Did you feel like, and you pretty much already said this, do you feel like the PRO course strategies applied really well to the CMA? You know, we don’t have CMA study materials, but the strategy, did that work out well?
Tim: A hundred percent. Yeah, it was, it was huge. So I think I, it was during my Christmas break. Um, right before between semesters when I purchased everything and I knew that the CPA was coming up and I said, Hey, this is my shot to do the CMA to make it right after I missed that last test by 10 points. Um, because I didn’t put in enough work.
Um, I’m going to look at these study PRO course stuff, and so I went through all those, um, the, the videos and stuff that you guys have, and it was just helpful in, in solidifying those ideas, like planting the seeds and like all these things. And so I was like, yeah, I don’t have [00:51:00] the material that. You know, I don’t have Superfast material for the CMA stuff, but I can still do a lot of this, at least in my, you know, hour and a half study session, doing the re-review.
Um, I think I wrote, like, maybe some flashcards or something throughout the process, and I’d re-review those as well. Um, yeah, I think it was huge. Um, and being able to get that test done. And I think that kind of snowballed into being able to then go into the BEC test and, and knock it out. And then I, from what I heard, the BEC, like the pass rates plummeted leading up to the end of the year.
And so me taking it. Yeah, like me taking it in February, beginning of February, I think was huge instead of just waiting until the end because yeah, it’s the easiest test or whatever people would say, like, everyone’s trying to take it all at once, you know, and so I was, I blessed be able to take the CMA, be able to apply the study exam, uh, study, I guess, PRO course tips and, um, then be able [00:52:00] to knock that one out first.
Nate: Yeah, That’s awesome.
Logan: And you already had it figured out. Yeah. Going into CPA, you already had a process. That’s perfect.
Nate: Yeah. So you don’t have this, you know, this, year’s long story of studying a ton, but still failing or passing one, but not in anyways, that’s just really nice from the beginning you just got your process down, nailed them and uh, yeah.
Dealing with Difficult Topics Using Flashcards
Logan: You mentioned one more thing, uh, you know, before we maybe start finishing up. You mentioned flashcards a little bit, but, you know, that’s a big part of the process that we typically recommend. Did you have a process for flashcards or at least a process for understanding topics that you really struggled with? What was it like?
Tim: Yeah. So, yeah, I think, um, and I, I guess I forgot to mention that, but I, I did have like, so on my iPad while I was, so I had my computer up in front of me, um, and then I had my iPad below the computer, and I had like the, I would write, they had like a flashcards app, so I wouldn’t be typing, but I would literally be [00:53:00] writing like the Apple pencil or whatever.
And I was able to use like flashcards app that like you tap and then it flips. And so I put like something on the front and then I’d put like the answer on the back. And so whenever something that was harder came up, I would go and I’d use that thing. And so I had like flashcards for, um, each, each test.
And then I was able to kind of review those things, um, throughout, uh, and then going into the exam, part of my final review process was going through those um, flashcards in a lot more detail. I remember, um, I was on a long car ride, um, right before I took audit and I was having, um, the person who was with me in the car just read me as I was driving, just read me the flashcard and then ask me the question.
And I think that was another thing. Cause it was like, we were driving really far to visit someone. And it was like, this is kind of crazy to be doing right before the [00:54:00] test. Um, but it helpful because while we were driving two hours, three hours, like I could still kind of review a little bit while I was with that other person because I had written down all those flashcards.
So I think that was another part that was pretty huge because I was able to kind of solidify some things that, yeah, I had a harder time with on the multiple choice. Going back through that, I think was, was huge. I liked the iPad flashcard format, um, better than,
Nate: What app is that by the way?
Tim: That’s a good question. I don’t have it with me. Um, it was a weird, it was a weird name, but, um,
Logan: It wasn’t like Quizlet or Brainscape.
Tim: It was its own. I paid like a few bucks for it. Um, but yeah,
Nate: Anki?
Tim: It might’vee been that. Yeah. Yeah. It might’ve, that one sounds familiar. Yeah, it could have been that one, but, um, it was a very simple app, but yeah, I don’t remember exactly what it was off the top of my head.
Nate: Yeah, no, I mean, that’s, I like that idea though. Writing out with the Apple pencil, uh, [00:55:00] to where you get that. I don’t know. Instead of just being confined to typing. Yeah. You can kind of diagram things.
Logan: Yeah. Cause that way you’re, all you have to have is your iPad instead of carrying around a thick stack of flashcards because you know, a lot of people do still do the physical flashcards and that’s great, but then they have to carry around a big stack of flashcards. So that’s a, that’s a cool solution for anybody out there where if you have some kind of like an iPad or something like that, and you would rather like write it out physically, that’s a great idea. I like that.
Tim: Yeah. It was huge. Um, I, I figured it out that that worked out for me. And so that’s what I did.
Nate: Yeah. All right, Tim. Well, yeah, I don’t want to take up tons more of your time. We’re already at an hour.
Top Tips for People Still Struggling with their Study Process
Nate: So the, uh, the last thing we always ask is what would be, if you summed up your top three tips to people that are still trying to figure out their own study process?
Tim: Yeah, I think the biggest thing that I like tell everyone that, that asked me about this stuff is listen to the [00:56:00] podcast, um, first. Um, to kind of gain exposure to these ideas, um, and hear about other people’s experiences. So I’d say that’s the first thing. Um, the second thing is incorporate re-review into your, into your study.
Um, and that’s the form of like taking your, your cumulative multiple choice. Um, then the third thing is, um, get that done in the morning, um, before you start your day, um, you know, prioritize. I think I would like read the Bible a little bit or do something like that. And then I’d jump into it, but it was still like one of the first things that I was doing each day.
And it was huge because every time that I’ve tried to do something else for school and I leave it to the end. It just doesn’t work the same.
So, um, Yeah.
Logan: Those are great. Thank you, tim.
Nate: Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for doing the call, Tim. It was awesome to hear your story. And, uh, yeah, I’m glad you found us and that it, you know, just worked for you [00:57:00] so well and congrats on being done.
Tim: Thank you. Thank you guys putting it together. Um, really appreciate it. And I, I appreciate the podcast to be in a way to, to hear about how people have been able to do it and get the, get the tests done because it’s huge. Um, I think for people and, um, just being able to it, get it done when it’s very, it’s like one of the more challenging things that you do in this, uh, profession.
Logan: Yeah.
Nate: Oh absolutely. Yeah. It’s harder than any college class you had, and it’s completely up to you, you know, it’s, it’s just a totally different thing.
Logan: All right. That was the interview with Tim. I love that interview. I love that he was so dedicated to passing the CPA exam before he got married and that he was able to do that with school, with work, with being busy with his fiance, you know, he was able to do all of that, with the SuperfastCPA strategies.
And again, not only that he was able to pass the CMA exam using the SuperfastCPA strategies.
So again, if you [00:58:00] have questions, or you’re like, can I do the CMA exam with the SuperfastCPA strategies? You 100% can and you can apply the SuperfastCPA strategies to a lot of different exams. We don’t necessarily have all the study materials for it, but the PRO course can teach you how to study for just about any exam.
So keep that in mind and make sure you share that with people.
As we close out this episode again, make sure you go check out our free one hour webinar training on superfastcpa.com. Again, we teach the key ingredients to passing the CPA exam for free. It’s only one hour long and you’re going to want to learn more after you watched that webinar. So you’re going to want to buy the PRO course. You’re gonna want to buy the study materials. But it all starts with that webinar. So make sure you go check that out. The link will be in the description of the podcast or the YouTube video, wherever you’re listening or watching.
Also make sure that you share this podcast and all the other episodes of the podcast with people you know who are going through the CPA exam.
This podcast is one of the best free resources out there for CPA exam candidates. So make sure you share this, it will help a lot of people.
If you liked this episode, make sure to leave a rating in the [00:59:00] podcast app of your choice, or if you’re watching on YouTube, make sure to like it and leave a comment.
Thank you for listening or watching. We hope this was helpful and we will see you in the next episode.
