I Passed the SIE!

In this world we have so many emotions, we have "Happy" and then we have "I Passed the SIE Happy"!. You cannot imagine (maybe you could if you've passed the SIE) understand the joy, the sheer exuberant joy one feels when one has finally, finally, finally passed the Securities Industry Essentials exam. It only took me three damn tries, 3 postponements, somewhere upward of $500 including all the times I had to pay fees and for the study guides. You have to pay each time for the postponement(s) as well. I say FINALLY and I mean it. I had all but decided that if I didn't pass it this time I was not going to take it again for at least six months. I don't have to do that now. I PASSED!!

FINRA is the Self Regulating Organization that registers and keeps track of every wealth investment advisor, registered representative and market maker. They are the go to, and the last word on who will and who will not sit for these types of tests. For YEARS I was unable to sit it because I had a bankruptcy and owed money that I didn't really owe. My ex owed money, but it was included in my debt, and there I was, wanting to be an investment advisor, but I couldn't be one, I couldn't even sit the test. I was FURIOUS! This went on for years. I would contest it, they would turn me down. I would protest, they didn't care. Finally, about a year ago I decided to try again. I had been approved for a house loan, so why would the other agencies requiring me to be in good financial standing NOT want me to be a part of their team? I wanted to be on the team! They said yes. WHAT? YES!! They said YES.

That news was just about a year ago, and yes, it has taken me just at a year to train, study, pay for classes online, pay for study guides, get the training I needed and take the test only to fail it not once, but twice. I was not a happy camper. Learning the ins and outs of the securities world is not an easy task. I didn't know how hard it would be, but I knew it would be challenging. It was kick-your-butt-and-then-the-rest-of-you challenging. It is 98% mental and only 2% breath. You can't sleep when you're training, not without seeing yourself in your dreams explaining calls and puts to unicorns who are shucking corn into wicker baskets that turn into mice traps. You find yourself trying to crawl over the window sill in your dream but you can't reach it because you need more yields to maturity to stand on. You have all the corporate bonds you need, but that damn yield isn't high enough yet to reach the open window! You realize you're dreaming when you ask the doorman at the castle where the fish live whether or not he's invested in open or closed management companies and he answers that he's not really into stocks but would prefer a IPO if I had one.

FINALLY! The day arrived and I was ready, but not before cramming my brain full of hours and hours of Dean Tinney (thank you Dean) and others on YouTube (thank you Basic Wisdom and Rose Han). I went through the Pass Perfect program for the SIE and it's not a bad program. I think I have to tell people that if you pass the Pass Perfect exams with an 80% you'll smash the FINRA exam without an issue. I learned so so so much more than I would ever have needed on the exam. Pass Perfect is about $149 for the minimum package. I did the $249 package the first time, but because I had the great flashcards and other links from that, I only did the cheaper package for this (the third) time. I am honest when I say it, I learned MORE from Dean Tinney on HOW to pass the test. I did learn an enormous amount of information through Pass Perfect, but Dean's guidance was over and above great when it came to tips, hints, clues, and means of actually passing the test. Woot!

My test time was set at 8:00 a.m. today. I would have to say that's pretty early, but then they emailed me asking me if I could come even earlier as they had a full schedule. Why sure!! What's another freaking hour when you are nervous and can't rest anyway? I was there, bells on (you have to remove bells when you get there) and I was absolutely convinced that I was going to pass this time. I prayed, and I prayed, and I let God have it. I asked Him to give me recall, but to massage my brain basically and to let me come up with the answers if I knew them. I wanted to KNOW that I passed, not think that I had. I kept a little tally score on the side of answers I knew I got correct, and those I wasn't sure of. I knew by the end that I SHOULD pass...based on the tally marks, but you just can't know until you see it on the screen. PASS.

For FINRA tests, if you pass you pass. They don't tell you the score. It was above a 70%, and that's all you'll ever know. I took tally marks and if the were correct, I made about an 88 or so. I can't know. I can't possibly know, because they throw in 10 experimental questions, and you don't know which ones they are. They don't count them right or wrong. They are just there. If you don't pass they do tell you what your score is and what areas you need help with. I passed. I was so happy - - but I know you can't make a single joyful sound when you see it on the screen. They warn you about it in advance. You can't do that because others are in the room and they're really nervous too, and it may distract them. If I had caused someone not to answer correctly because of my jubilee, I would have been really upset with myself. You just have to have a silent little sigh, and another prayer!! Thank you Jesus!

The SIE is a stepping stone in the world of wealth management. You can't become a registered rep until you take the Series 66 and 7, or the 63 and 6. I'm going for the Series 66 and 7 so I can do stock trades and options. My plan is to do one at a time, and to sit one in the spring and the next in the summer. You know I'm taking Dean with me! I'm going to find him on YouTube and watch, take notes, re-watch, and practice until I know it. I hope to be fully registered by July. That doesn't mean I won't read every book, pamphlet, brochure, and website I can about trading, because I will. I will become a great trader soon, and if I only trade for myself and maybe a few friends, I'll be the happiest little Bull trader out there. Always the Bull, never the Bear. If I'm not looking up, I'm not making sense to my soul. Today was a JESUS day. I have Him and Him alone to thank, so I did. I can't wait to go to sleep and tell the unicorn and the doorman all about my new certificate.