Finally passed my CFG exam after two attempts — here's what actually helped

So I finally got my CFG certification last week and I'm still kind of in shock. Failed my first attempt back in February by 11 points, which was honestly devastating after two months of prep. The thing is, I was studying the wrong way — I was reading textbooks cover to cover instead of actually testing myself on the material.

What turned everything around was switching to a CFG practice test approach. I'd do a timed set of 40 questions every morning before work, then spend 20 minutes reviewing anything I got wrong. The governance and ethics sections kept tripping me up, so I built a personal study guide just for those domains with flashcards and real-world scenarios I found in forums like this one.

My exam tips for anyone currently prepping: don't underestimate the situational judgment questions. They're not testing memorization — they want to see how you think through conflicts of interest and fiduciary duties. I scored an 83 on my second attempt. Happy to answer questions about specific domains or what resources I used.