Time to get back into it!

I haven't done much study lately. One reason being is that I'm going to South America in February, so I've been learning some spanish at night.

Second and the biggest reason is work. Does anyone else find it hard to do study when they get home from work? How do you motivate yourself to study? I know if I did about half an hour each day, I would be set for the exam next year. But most of the time when I come home, I eat dinner pretty much straight away. Then, all I want to do is blob out.

How do you motivate yourself to study after you've spent all day at work (or studying at uni)?

I guess it comes down to how bad do you want to pass. I would love to pass this exam. And it's very possible. I'm going to have to put something up on the wall to remind myself of what I want to achieve. Put some study music on for half an hour and just do it.

But if you have some tips, please let me know!

How are your studies going? If you're sitting the december exam, you'll be wrapping up and doing practice exams now I guess. Do all the ones the CFAI provides, even the ones you need to pay for. They are very valuable. And how are you doing if you're studying for the June exams? Have you started yet?

212 days until the level two exam.

Long Overdue Update

Wow. I have not made a post to this blog since April. It is long overdue for an update. I have not given up on the CFA designation, I have just been so busy at work the past few months, I simply didn't make time to post.

The bad news is that I failed level 2 again. I failed in band 10 and when I reflect on how I went, it was simply not enough preparation. Like last year, my studies were rushed at the end, so I didn't fully understand the material. It is disappointing I can't start studying for level 3, but it will be good to go over the level 2 material again and learn it inside out!

This year I have purchased the Allen Resources videos, testbank, and notes. I have not used any of it yet, but they have a guide on how to tackle the material. This year, I will start from equity and work to the end of the material. I have almost finished the first study session for equity. I have started now because I am taking a long holiday next February, and I do not want to end up in the same position as the last two years.. I am determined to pass!

Good luck to all of you. I wish you all the best for your studies!

269 days until the level 2 exam.

Economics and FSA done!

I finished Economics a couple of weeks ago and finished FSA this weekend. Last year, these sections were my strongest (I got >70% for both). So this year I will be aiming for the same.

There are less than four weeks until the mock exam, and only 6 weeks until the main exam. I have stepped up my study a lot now. I feel like I have a good chance of passing even though I have not had as much preparation time as last year. I have learnt from my mistakes will finish strong.

How are your studies going? Have you almost finished the material? Go hard for this last month!

41 days until the level 2 exam.

Finally finished Quant!

I finished Quant last weekend. Hopefully I can get through the rest of the material faster because there's only around eight weeks until the exam!

Since I spent so long on it, I'm aiming to get a high mark for this section. If there are two item sets for Quant, I would like to get 9/12. I will continue doing questions leading up to the exam so I'm comfortable with getting that.

How is your study going? Hopefully you're well ahead of me. If you are putting in the effort, you have a very good chance of passing. Go hard!

62 days until the level 2 exam.

Reminiscing

I'm doing a fair bit of study now and I think I'm in a good rhythm. I study during my lunch break, every night, and most of the day during the weekends. It's reminding me of how I studied last year and for level one.

I will be happy if I start dreaming about what I'm studying. Thoughts of Quant is never far away from my mind these days..

75 days until the level 2 exam.

Best news of the year!

I have not updated this for a while because there has been nothing to update. My study has been virtually non-existent until this week. However I have done a fair bit this week and I am pretty motivated to keep going.

This year, the NZ CFA society is offering the chance to do a live schweser mock exam for $50! It is very cheap and it is on the 22 of May.

That is two months away, or eight weeks. Since I have not studied much, I need to aim to finish more than two study sessions each week. Since I have notes from last years attempt. I think this is possible. But it will require a lot of dedication from now on.

This week I will finish Quant. I will post an update once I have done that.

Good luck with your studies.

78 days until the level II exams.

Time to start studying again..

I haven’t posted anything since I got the results of level II because I haven’t been studying. I’ve enjoyed having a break and not having to read textbooks or do problems. However now that it’s November and getting close to the end of the year I think I should start getting into the habit of studying.

I figure I will study one day this week for 1/2 an hour. And each week I will add another day on. I don’t know how much study I’ll do in the weekend but it will depend on how hard the topic is and how much study I need to do for it.

I have an idea of my strong and weak areas from my previous study and the exam results. This time around I think I will alternate between subjects I find easier, and hard subjects. Hopefully this will stop me from falling into a rut.

So first off will be ethics. Ethics is a hard subject (I got <50%), but it is lighter reading and not mathematical so it wont stress my brain out too much. I will try and write to let you know how my studies go.

Has anyone else started studying for the June exams yet? I guess it is still a long way off, but even if you skim through the material now to get an idea of what you’re going to cover, it should help you later on when you start studying more seriously on.

210 days until the June 2010 exams.