Joe does an exam
On Thursday 21st May 2026, I passed my first Financial Planning exam, that being R05.
About a month before that, on Friday 24th April 2026, I failed R05.
R05 is on the topic of financial protection, and is one of the six exams that make up the Regulated Diploma in Financial Planning - the ultimate goal for this endeavour.
The last time I took any form of test was around May 2018 whilst doing my A-Levels. Everything at university was written, so after a near enough eight year gap, it is safe to say I was not prepared for how odd it was to study for an exam again. I knew when I started working at FLP that qualifications were on the cards eventually, but much like they did at school, they slipped into the ‘they’re not here yet so it’s all fine’ category in my mind.
I did get myself together as the exam date got closer. I skimmed through the important bits of the study text book, read the key facts, and - much to the pain of my fingers - wrote down all 300 summary questions and answers that were provided on all the chapters. After all this, I believed I was ready to rock.
2pm on the day of the exam rolled around, and so did the problems. Whilst connecting to the software, my internet died. I rebooted using another network, it wouldn’t connect. And then the same again. And again. I moved rooms after the third failed attempt. After all the checks had been completed, I was finally given access to the exam, only an hour after I had originally sat down to take it in the first place. All that didn’t really help my relaxed, calm, and zen demeanor. I saw the first exam question, and after all that had just happened, thought that this must be some sort of social experiment to see how much buggery I can handle. I know exam boards have to make sure you understand the topic and can’t make it too simple, but the first question had the most baffling wording I’d ever seen in a sentence. I questioned my knowledge of the English language for about a minute before having to move on. Overall, not a great start, and based on the second sentence in this blog, it did not get much better. I managed only to get 25 out of 50 on my first attempt. A pass requires 35.
Based on what I’d heard beforehand about R05, I knew the pass rate was around ~80%, so failing by 10 points didn’t fill me with much joy. I’d been assured that if I didn’t pass then it would be fine and there would be no judgement, but there still was from myself. I’ve not failed that much in my life. Even though I was never great at exams, I still did well enough to get to do my A-Levels after my GCSEs, and then Uni after A-Levels, and so on. It was a bit of a rough blow as I knew I couldn’t blame anyone but me. This was all made slightly better by going to Greece for a week a few days after, but unfortunately that doesn’t pass the exam for me.
I got home, booked a re-sit, and got my head down. It rolled around quickly. I’d been better prepared and of course knew the risk of potentially faffy wording, yet I was a lot more nervous. I knew what to expect on the day, I made sure there would be no technical difficulties, and I had a whole extra month to study up. I really had no excuses this time around which made the pressure ten times worse. Once I started the nerves eased of course, there were questions that I was 100% sure on this time. The odd one threw me off, but not enough to get to my head. I got on with it.
It was the fastest 45 minutes of my life. This was followed by the longest 5 seconds of my life waiting to see if I passed or failed. Thankfully, as was also spoiled earlier, I passed. It was certainly an odd feeling doing all this. A humbling experience at times, but rather glad the first one is out the way now - the only way is up!
See you all again in a few months for an update on R03 - Personal taxation. I’ve heard it’s a good ‘un.
Ciao for now,
Joe