Leah is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

The last time I wrote, I was throwing a Hail Mary from the 50-yard line to try and take advantage of the extra week of testing in December.

I was only half prepared to sit but I wanted to give it a try. It would have ended my CPA exam trudge had I passed REG. Instead, I ended up with a 74.

I’m partly pleased and partly aggravated. I didn’t expect to come that close to passing. I did better than I thought I would and now I know where I need to focus my efforts for improvement.

I have zero tax experience other than a couple of classes I took a few years ago so it tells me that even REG is passable.

Then again, that 74 is a hard number to receive. There’s something so very annoying about getting that close to passing. I didn’t quite understand until it happened to me.

I spent a few days wondering which question I may have missed or should have answered right that would have gained me at least one point. Of course family have asked how I did and it’s terrible to have to tell them I failed by one point.

I got over it pretty quickly though because one thing I’ve learned is that it isn’t worth it to wallow in self-pity and to worry about what I could have done differently. So I’ll take what I learned from the exam experience and move on.

I don’t regret trying. I would do it again. It’s boosted my drive to learn the things I didn’t quite get the first time around. I can be finished with this monster of an exam if I stay focuses and don’t make excuses.

The one thing I would have changed is that I would have spent the whole day with my family on Thanksgiving instead of skipping out just to get in a couple hours more study time.

My family is going through a rough spot right now with medical issues, and although the exams are important, family is more important. For that reason, I took a two-day break for Christmas and made myself stop thinking about REG. I chose to enjoy family time instead of skipping out.

There will be more challenges and decisions to be made over the next few weeks, and I intend to be there for my family. I’ll still be studying my backside off, but I want to keep the order of importance in check.

I’ve found inspiration around Another71 and even with other bloggers; don’t make excuses. Excuses can make us feel better, but it doesn’t get anything done. Now it’s time to buckle down and squash REG.