MY GET RIGHT PLAN FOR BEC

I have tomorrow off and I’m planning on using my three day weekend wisely.

This weekend will consist of no outside activities other than the CPA. T.V. will only be watched when I’m taking a break and phone calls will be limited to emergencies My plan or as I would like to call it “My Get Right Plan” is as follows

Friday April 1,

1) Complete the Risk Mgmt Questions in the Wiley textbook using the Yaeger minimum question list.

2) Watch 2hrs of the Yaeger Fin Mgmt Cram DVD

3) Re-Do all Financial Mgmt Questions in Becker

4) Do a progress test on B3

5) Re-Watch the Becker COSO videos (I noticed I need to brush up on this).

Saturday April 2

1) Watch Yaeger Performance Measures Cram Videos

2) Do minimum Performance Measures questions

3) Do all Becker Performance Measures questions

4) Watch Yaeger Cost Measurement Video’s

5) Do minimum Wiley questions

6) Do all Becker Cost Questions

7) Do atleast 6 WC’s.

Sunday April 3

1) Do 80 IT questions (no videos)

2) Re-Do all Econ Questions (no videos)

3) Do planning and control questions (minimum Wiley and 85% of Becker)

4) Do alteast 6 WC’s.

I know this plan seems aggressive but I have to do it. I know next week will be busy at work and I won’t be able to be at ease until I’ve completed all homework twice and I’m scoring in the 80’s for homework.

I went back to see my REG performance in the software and each and every category showed that I scored atleast a 80 overall. That’s my plan for BEC.

So time to GET IT RIGHT!

TBS Day for BEC

I've decided this coming Sunday I will be doing at a minimum two written communications from each module. This really helped me in REG. I will post an update on how it goes.

In other news BEC is moving right along. I feel confident but I definitely need to do a good final review. Tomorrow I will be reviewing COSO at lunch and watching  three hours of cram lectures at night while taking good notes. Thursday I will do questions from the cram lectures I watched. Friday is a repeat. I WILL BE GETTING THROUGH THE ENTIRE CRAM BEFORE SUNDAY!! Here's to studying!!

Whoa....I did It. I passed REG

I know I said that I wasn’t going to check my REG score….but Twitter was jumping.

I pondered, and contemplated and pondered some more.

I then decided I would check it. I text MissGina and told her I was so nervous and tempted to check.

She made me promise that no matter what the outcome I better be determined to beat BEC down on 4/9.

I kindly excused myself (I was at work) and went into the bathroom and had a heart to heart prayer. I told GOD that no matter what I see I have to deal with it and move on.

I walked back to my desk and looked up my section ID in my email.

I went to the NASBA site (hands are shaking and heart is beating fast).

I put in my info and this is what I saw

87!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was in shock.

When I first took REG I got a 63. That’s a 24 point improvement.

Getting one under your belt just lets me know that I can do this. Hard work does pay off. I studied so many hours for this test. I did so many MCQ’s that I can’t keep count. I made sure that while looking at Beckers class notes I could fully elaborate on their summaries. I liked to look at it as if someone was asking me about taxes and business law I had to explain it to them.

The key I believe to me passing were the live Becker classes. Yes I know I said that they were a waste but obviously they weren’t. They were definitely pretty boring and my Sunday’s seemed consumed. However the fact that I had to force myself and stay on schedule made me stay on track. I definitely have more drive then I did last year. I also have more confidence. I will be the first to say that I didn’t use 100% Becker and I know that for future tests I won’t. But the software and the trackers really helped me focus on my weaknesses.

Its been 324 days since I sat for my first exam (which was BEC on 4/9/10. Ironically I will be sitting for BEC again on 4/9/11)

Now off to BEC!!! I’m going to put 150% into this.

Study Tip #3 ---Learn How To Say No…..

This week’s study tip is brought to you by our friends and relatives who get upset when we tell them we have to study. We all have them.

The friend who says “ Why can’t you go out?”

The relative who asks” Why didn’t you come to my house for my baby’s birthday party?”

Or the boyfriend/husband/significant other who says “ I feel neglected…put down those books!”

YOU BETTER SAY NO!

Yes we all feel bad and yes some people will feel neglected but aren’t we neglecting ourselves also? They aren’t the only ones suffering!

In order to pass there will be things that we have to give up. We will not be able to make it to every event, or make everyone happy. So saying No is perfectly fine.

So what did we learn today?

ITS OK TO SAY NO!

I Don't Mean to Complain But I Need to Vent......

I don’t want to sound like a complaining brat…. But I really DON’T LIKE BEC!!! Every time I start to feel confident something comes to totally knock me down. I try to convince myself that I’m overreacting but I can’t help to feel this way.

I guess this all stemming from today’s lunch time studying. Budgeting and forecasting totally took advantage of me. I don’t know what it is but I was getting all the calcs wrong. I specifically remember working through them last time and getting them correct. Its like I never learned this stuff.

I basically spent a hour and a half trying to figure out four problems. That seriously is not funny. That means I have some huge deficiencies in that area. The fact that the text book is so vague doesn’t make it easier. I need to get it together and I need to get it together quick. I only have 12 days left and I still need to do the IT module. I will only spend another day on this chapter and then IT for two days. After that its review, review, review. Hopefully I won’t get slammed on the exam with those budgeting questions. No matter what I’m going to keep at it.


Maybe my brain is just off today. I sure hope so!

Checking In and Decisions

Today was another BEC class.

It felt good to be ahead of the class and use class today as reinforcement. I must say that the reason I'm ahead is not because of Becker but its because of Yeager. Yes I swore before that I was done with them but let me tell you, the 2011 version is so much better! Cindy is the main instructor. Economics last yr in the 2010 course was beyond horrible...I would say to sum it up it was wretched! Phil must have had a lot of complaints becAuse they totally switched it up this year.

Anyway, I decided on a number of things this weekend. One being that Im putting 150% into passing by this summer. And when I say Summer I mean I will be done with all tests before the 4th of July. I just missed out on my bff's bday party which included a photo shoot just to study. I have to prioritize. I must say that my level of being this focused was not this high last year.

Secondly I decided that I will NOT be doing live classes for FAR and Audit. I've decided this because I NEED my Sundays to study. FAR is a time crunch no matter what so sitting in class for 8-9 hrs where the instructor is just reading from the book is not a good use of time. I believe I can do this on my own. I have the structure and determination and will inside of me to stay on course.  I've also decided that I will use Yaeger as primary and Becker for HW . I made this decision because Cindy's teaching style is exactly what I need. She breaks it down so that it makes complete sense. I will do the Yaeger minimum questions and all Becker HW. If I have time I will go back and do the Wiley questions not listed as minimum. I will also be using Kaplan audio for daily reinforcement.

So there it is. It's amazing the clarity you get in a week.

Study Tip #2- Chill Out

I've realized during studying sometimes you have to give your mind a rest. What's the point of studying if your mind is somewhere else? It's Ok if somedays are not as productive as others. As long as you don't totally deviate from plan you will be OK. It's better to study when your mind is 100% there than 50% there. We are not machines.

There have been plenty of times that I have been frustrated and continued to study all the while I would not be retaining information and everything seemed sooooo hard.

Now on the other hand there have been times when I would know when to put down the books when I felt the level of frustration building. It was during these times that I learned that its better to chill out, regroup, and come back to it. I can tell you that 98% of the time when I came back I understood it.

While we have goals to study we do need to take a little time to make ourselves happy. If we don't then we will totally resent the CPA and see it as punishment. For instance I can tell you that one of my fellow twitter friends (Lady La_La) made the funniest video ever here. You have to learn how to de-stress.

So this weeks study tip is to CHILL OUT don't get so worked up when things don't go according to plan. We are humans not machines. If we were machines well we wouldnt even be here talking about this. Tomorrow is a new day whatever happened regarding your study goals yesterday doesn't matter all that matters is that you put your focus into today and exam day.

Happy Studying. And remember don't lose focus...you got this!

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Study Tip #1- Set a Goal

I've been thinking about starting a feature on my blog. I wanted this feature to be something that I can speak upon and can relate to. So without further ado I'm introducing weekly study tips. These are study tips that I use or have learned from others.

When I first started studying I didn't have a plan. All I knew was that I had to study. I was jumping all over the book. I didn't have a focus and I had no direction. Looking back on it now, that was a BIG mistake.

Now I know the importance of setting daily/weekly goals. I prepare my weekly goal setting on Sunday's. I map out what I need to cover for the week. I also keep my goals REALISTIC. I don't set a goal that is unattainable (i.e. answer 2,500 questions today). Setting goals gives me a sense of accomplishment and I also don't feel overwhelmed.

The most important thing to remember when setting your goal is to STICK TO IT!. What is the point of a goal if your not going to stick to it. If your not sticking to your goal then its not a goal, its a possibility. Possibilities won't get you to pass on the CPA exam. I will admit that sometimes I may set a goal and I may fall short. For example I may say that I want to answer 50 questions and my brain is so fried that I only answer 30. In situations like this I still feel like I accomplished something. Yes I didn't meet my goal but I didn't totally ignore it and I did make an effort to get close. I will say that when that does happen I make it my business to make up for it.

So this week's study tip is to ****SET A GOAL AND STICK TO IT****

You will see how much you accomplished and how better prepared you are by doing it.

Me and BEC

It's that time again and its Me and BEC.

I'm a week ahead of my schedule which is great! I did what I had to do so that my Becker live class could be a review today.

Can I just say that Becker gets two thumbs DOWN from me when it comes to cost accounting. The way that they explain cost accounting is just really bad (that's just my opinion). Thank goodness for my old notes or else I would be royally screwed.

Other than that my studies are going good. My REG score should be coming out in about a week and a half and my nerves are already bad. I'm freaking out already. I don't know if I'm going to check my score before or after BEC. Checking scores before another exam can be a serious confidence boost or killer. I do feel pretty good about REG but I still have that doubt in me ( I know I know thats not good...but I do).

This weeks plan is to cover B2 and B3. There are 520 homework questions O_0. That means that I will be studying during lunch atleast 4 days and on Saturday.