Study Session 8

There are a lot of ratios to remember here. Try and do a few examples, and if they don't stick, know that you can come back to them later.

Be sure not to get fatigued hear, it's near the halfway point of studying!

Study Session 5,6,7

Now things are getting interesting!

I wouldn't say the material here is necessarily difficult. It's just a bit frustrating to get through. You really have to be your own judge here and know where you can and cannot push yourself. I for one tried to take breaks (having been travelling) but even when I tried to come back to study, it was frustrating. Another big break is coming up (President's Day Weekend) and so I have to avoid falling behind by getting through as much as possible. But I don't want to burn out. So what I have had to do (and it is a compromise) is to just read the sections without going in to too much depth KNOWING FULL WELL THAT I'LL COME BACK. Because these sections are pretty much the kind you have to do to learn. So that way, I don't feel too much pressure to stay on schedule, and I'm absorbing as much as I can, and the more important topics can be fresher on my mind when I get to the exam. I wouldn't recommend this for many people, and it definitely seems like this is the worst section to be giving that kind of advice, so I go back to my earlier statement of you having to be your own judge.

The topics that I've just been through: Exconomics, Foreign Exchange, and Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis.

Takeaways:
Be your own judge - don't burn out
If you have to, put down the notecards and pens and just read.
YOU MUST COME BACK to do the problems.

Motivation

Ok, so it's been an admittedly tough week of studying because of other events going on in the real world. While I know that it's better just to catch up when you're in the mood, I'm just enough of a compulsive person that I feel guilty about being out of schedule. But then I remembered a talk a guy from my work gave a few weeks ago. He's a CFA, but while his title involves investments, he's currently working on providing investment platform software solutions for some of the financial advisors at our firm. Anyways, I say that to minimize the idea that this guy is working on a trading desk or is an analyst who is engulfed in CFA-related material 24/7. What struck me was the passion and convinction in his voice when he spoke of how much he loved investments. He was so animated recalling his passion for the exam that it made me realize - hey, stop even thinking this as studying or preparing for an exam - that's just a byproduct. Think of this as something you can truly learn from and have an contribution to your company, personal investments, and general knowledge. This material is something that can be mastered - like a fine crafstman or a basketball player who comes early and stays late. So it helps to see the bigger picture, and from that, I think it helps energize myself.

Of course, now, I have to see if I can catch up on 150 pages today!