I have officially passed the CFP (R) exam!
I’m pretty excited – it was the culmination of 3 years of work with the last 6 months definitely being the most time-consuming and intense.
Unfortunately, I can’t actually use the designation since I don’t have the required experience. One of the best parts of taking the classes and preparing for the test was the breadth of information I learned. I learned more about tax planning, insurance, and estate planning than I ever thought I wanted to (but turned out to actually be very interesting).
This morning I didn’t set an alarm for the first item in about 6 months and it was absolutely glorious. I slept until 6 am!
I’ve already starting ticking things off the extensive to-do list that’s built up over the course of the year. This weekend I plan to spend a lot of time with the kids and do some serious gardening.
Perhaps more importantly, I’ll be able to sit down and enjoy the season premiere of “Game of Thrones” on Sunday night without feeling guilty that I’m not studying!
Congratulations! Hard work always pays off!
That is such great news and a wonderful milestone.
What have you done differently with your own personal finances that have come from the CFP journey?
Let me tell you a little story to answer that question.
A few weeks ago I was in LA for 4 days to take a review class for the CFP exam. There were about 15 students in the class. Everybody in the class except for me was already working in the industry. We had just reviewed the estate planning material and discussed the importance of trusts, power-of-attorney documents, wills, etc. I was wondering the same thing you are – do people in the industry just have these things dialed in?
At the next break I asked the people around me that very question and of the 5 people I asked, only 1 had actually done any estate planning. The only woman who HAD done estate planning had been with her wife for 5+ years and they have an adopted daughter. Because same-sex marriage wasn’t recognized at the federal level when they adopted their daughter they’d gone through the full estate planning process to ensure everything would be handled the way they wanted it to be.
As for me – one of the things high on my to-do list is estate planning. My wife and I need to update our wills and put a living trust in place to hold our rental properties (especially the ones that are out of state).
I’ve also adjusted some of our insurance policies (including adding a personal umbrella policy and a commercial umbrella policy to cover our rental properties).
I think most people’s attitude about estate planning and insurance follow Mike Tyson’s philosophy on life, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
I’ve always loved that quote. That one quote has made me completely change my opinion of Mike Tyson. I’m now convinced he’s a warrior poet in the mold of the samurai of imperial Japan.
Congratulations on passing the exam! I hope you enjoy some well deserved free time.
Thanks! I managed to sleep in a bit this morning and my wife and I are going to a wine festival here in Santa Barbara today. Should be a great time.
A post on how passing the CFP test fits into your future plans would be interested. I’ve thought about going down the same path but like you have no industry experience and couldn’t actually use the CFP marks. Getting the experience requirement in 5 years might be tough without a solid plan. I enjoy the stuff and would probably like learning the depths of it all but in the end I’d like to get some utility out taking the classes and passing (hopefully!) the exam. Haven’t figured that part out yet.
Great idea! Expect to see this soon.
Congrats! I have yet to start my CFP journey but I’m committed to get it started by next year. Do you plan to pursue a career in personal financial planning so that you can utilize that CFP designation? (I understand that you will need 3 years’ worth of relevant experience before you’re allowed to use it). My personal goal is more of personal development. As you know, I have a pretty lucrative career and don’t want to necessarily take a 60% cut in pay to become a personal financial planner. I’m just wondering what your longer terms plans are for that CFP.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that very question, and you’ll see a blog post in the next day or so with my current thoughts on what’s next…
Congrats on this newest achievement!
Thanks – it’s great to have it done and behind me.