Lack of success. The action or state of not functioning. Failure. I am a failure, at a lot of things, but yesterday I was able to fail the CFP exam. I don’t know if you remember but over a year ago, I posted that I was starting my journey to become a CFP, Certified Financial Planner. I have been studying for over a year, nights and weekends, down times at work, anytime I could fit it in really. Yesterday I took the test and I failed. Talk about disappointment. I am not gonna lie, I cried like a baby for an hour. I have been working so hard and to see the words fail on the screen were like a punch in the gut. Did I just waste 1.5 years of my time for nothing.
The test consists of 170 questions divided into 2 sections. It is a 6-hour test that is done at a testing center where you have to practically get undressed for them to make sure you are not smuggling anything into the test center. There is even a metal detector. They use your photo and fingerprints to identify you and you must sign in and out of the test. It is a strange experience but one that I have done before. I took my Series 7 and Series 66 exams at the same test center and was able to actually pass those tests. I was the first person at the testing center, and it was still dark outside, but they let me start the test early. I have been eating, sleeping and breathing this test for the last couple of months. Once I got in there I blanked. Everything that I had been preparing for was here now and it was like a different language to me. The pressure I was feeling took over and my confidence in myself went right out the metaphorical window.
For anyone who has taken exams like this, you may have used an exam prep course like I did. The exam course has a question bank that you can use to practice. I always find the question bank questions are easy compared to the real test questions. If the questions had been like my question bank questions, I would have passed no problem. I know that the test is supposed to be hard but there is only a 60% pass rate. It seems to me that you are set up to fail when your prep course questions are easy to master but the actual test questions are like a foreign language. Of course I am just saying this to make myself feel better. I let the pressure get to me and it ended up crushing me in the end.
I am embarrassed. I even thought about not posting about this and no one would have ever remembered that I was working on my CFP, but I wanted to be honest and share what I am feeling. I am feeling bummed. I feel like I let everyone down. So many people were confident in me except me. I did cry for about an hour after my test. I told myself I could have 1 day to wallow in my sorrow and that then I had to move on and get back on the saddle. So, today is the day after my big test and I am going to jump back into studying and try again (well I am giving myself maybe a week to breathe). The next time the test is offered is in March 2024 and I WILL PASS IT. I have worked too hard to give up now and I have to prove to myself that I can pass it.
Thanks to everyone who has supported me through this, and I hope that I can kick this test’s ass and make you proud in March 2024!
