I am a CFP.  Probably the hardest test I have ever taken.  Did not think that I passed it when I left the room after the second day.  The key to the exam was going to the College for Financial Planning’s 1 week course a month before the test.  The course cost $1k, and hotel was another $500 plus plane ticket and on and on, but the value of passing the first try was what made it worth it.  Good luck that 57% pass rate is a killer.

Thanks Mrad, I am scheduled to take the Zahn review. I have been in the business for seven years. Does experience help at all?

[quote=mrad]I am a CFP.  Probably the hardest test I have ever taken.  Did not think that I passed it when I left the room after the second day.  The key to the exam was going to the College for Financial Planning's 1 week course a month before the test.  The course cost $1k, and hotel was another $500 plus plane ticket and on and on, but the value of passing the first try was what made it worth it.  Good luck that 57% pass rate is a killer.[/quote]

I did the same. I took the prereqs via the American College self-study program and a prep course to freshen things up two weeks in advance. I felt good when I left the exam, but I didn't sleep really well until the results were posted.

I studied about 2 hours each weeknight and 6 hours on Sat and 5 hours
on Sun for about 3 months leading up to the test and passed just
fine.  I also took the full Ken Zahn program, all module classes
and the live review. I finished the entire program, classes and all in
9 months.  Not much of a life but it is very do-able.



One bit of advice: study far more than you think you need to, its a ton of information.

The CPA exam is the hardest exam I’ve ever taken. It’s harder than the bar exam and is way harder than the little cfp quiz.

We had a CPA in our CFP program, and he said the CPA was probably more
difficult, but not by a large margin.  He had taken the CPA 3
years ago.  I think it depends on the person and the type of
things they are good at retaining.

little quiz, dirk your obviously not a CFP.  The CPA is very difficult, the CFP is no joke.  I know several people who have passed the bar cpa cfp and cfa.  They say they are all different but all respectfully difficult.

By the way Dirk your an asf.  If I met you in real life I would probably punch you just for fun.

[quote=bankrep1]

little quiz, dirk your obviously not a CFP.  The CPA is very difficult, the CFP is no joke.  I know several people who have passed the bar cpa cfp and cfa.  They say they are all different but all respectfully difficult.

By the way Dirk your an asf.  If I met you in real life I would probably punch you just for fun.

[/quote]

Nope. I'm overqualified to become a cfp. There are barriers to becoming a CPA and any idiot can be a cfp.

If I were you, I'd punch me for the things that I've been doing to your mom, just for fun.

Dirk Diggler = Al E Gator ?    

Dirk,

Please.  Anyone who says there overqualified for a designation that has earned the respect to have education programs implemented at universities around the country is just hiding in self doubt.

Maybe you know about taxes, but I doubt you fully understand insurance, estate planning, retirement plans, employee benefits and countless other items the CFP trains you for.  The CPA is about accounting and auditing, if you want instant credibility as a planner the CFP is a neccesity, I do believe it is a minimum requirement and not the holy grail.

If your goal is just to place people into VA's I highly doubt the CFP would benefit you in any way. 

How many years do you have to be licensed/esperiended before you can take the CFP exam?

You cannot call yourself a CFP even if you’ve passed the exam unless you have a 3 years experience.  You could technically take the exam with no experience. A bachelors degree is required starting next year.

[quote=bankrep1]

Dirk,

Please.  Anyone who says there overqualified for a designation that has earned the respect to have education programs implemented at universities around the country is just hiding in self doubt.

I've heard of some universities that have accounting programs.

Maybe you know about taxes, but I doubt you fully understand insurance, estate planning, retirement plans, employee benefits and countless other items the CFP trains you for. 

You're right, bank employee. These areas have nothing to do with tax compliance.

The CPA is about accounting and auditing, if you want instant credibility as a planner the CFP is a neccesity, I do believe it is a minimum requirement and not the holy grail.

I know this might sound crazy, but is there a chance that the CPA (which people are familiar with) could trump the cfp (which most people don't know about)?

If your goal is just to place people into VA's I highly doubt the CFP would benefit you in any way. 

I'm really good at what I do. People like that much better than my credentials. I'm not a whore who will take anyone and will do anything for them. Been there, done that. If people want what I do, I'm their best bet. You attract more business when you specialize than when you generalize. You wouldn't understand, bank EE.

[quote=bankrep1]You cannot call yourself a CFP even if you've passed the exam unless you have a 3 years experience.  You could technically take the exam with no experience. A bachelors degree is required starting next year.[/quote]

Wow! Is a bachelor's degree more prestigious than the GED, which is currently required?

Well, despite whether one thinks it is worth it or not, the test is 10
hours and only about 60% of the people pass.  I have found that
the only people that criticize credential (including me before I
completede it) are those that never went through the pain of completing
it.  It does not take Nobel Prize winning smarts to complete it,
but it is not a quiz either.  If you do not have it and are doing
fine, then why throw punches at it? 



The post was by someone who chooses to complete it, so it would seem
that the respondants should be from those that have valuable input. It
is alot of material so you really cannot under study.

[quote=rightway]Well, despite whether one thinks it is worth it or not, the test is 10 hours and only about 60% of the people pass.  I have found that the only people that criticize credential (including me before I completede it) are those that never went through the pain of completing it.  It does not take Nobel Prize winning smarts to complete it, but it is not a quiz either.  If you do not have it and are doing fine, then why throw punches at it? 

The post was by someone who chooses to complete it, so it would seem that the respondants should be from those that have valuable input. It is alot of material so you really cannot under study.
[/quote]

Buddy, I'm here to have fun on the internet. It's working.

I have a certain level of respect to anyone who takes time out of the schedule to study, take, and pass that thing. Whether it has an impact on your business or not or how skilled you are with your clients is unclear. Cudos for getting the darn thing.

Dirk,

If accounting is so great why are you not an accountant?  I will tell you I was originally an accounting major when I was in school and quickly learned being a bean counter was not for me.  I still have nightmares about cost accounting, who in the world finds that interesting?

I am not knocking the CPA.  It is a huge accomplishment.  What I am knocking is your arrogance in writing off the CFP as a little quiz.  Sure the public may know the CPA better than the CFP today, but that is no different than being a lawyer who does financial planning.  The CPA is an accounting credential not a financial planning credential.  If you are so big on taxes you would know VA's and EIA's are probably not the best investment choices and I have found my knowledge of estate planning is what opens up doors to high net worth customers.

[quote=bankrep1]

Dirk,

If accounting is so great why are you not an accountant?  I will tell you I was originally an accounting major when I was in school and quickly learned being a bean counter was not for me.  I still have nightmares about cost accounting, who in the world finds that interesting?

I hated being an accountant. Accountants don't make as much money as most people think and the actual work is extremely boring to me. When I was working on my Master's in Accounting, I taught Cost to undergrads. I actually kind of liked it. Much more tolerable than audit.

I am not knocking the CPA.  It is a huge accomplishment.  What I am knocking is your arrogance in writing off the CFP as a little quiz.  Sure the public may know the CPA better than the CFP today, but that is no different than being a lawyer who does financial planning.  The CPA is an accounting credential not a financial planning credential.  If you are so big on taxes you would know VA's and EIA's are probably not the best investment choices and I have found my knowledge of estate planning is what opens up doors to high net worth customers.

VA's and EIA's can be very poor choices for a lot of people. Why do you think that I think otherwise?