Finally passed the ACA exam after failing twice — here's what worked

Okay so I've been lurking here for a while and I feel like I owe it to this community to share my experience since you guys helped me so much. I failed the ACA exam in November and again in February. Both times I thought I was ready, both times I wasn't. The problem was I kept studying the same way — just rereading the official prep materials and doing a handful of practice questions.

What finally clicked for me was actually drilling with a proper ACA practice test under timed conditions. Like simulating the real thing, not just casually flipping through questions. I used a study guide that broke down the domains by weight and spent the most time on the areas I kept getting wrong (cost management wrecked me both previous attempts). Third time I scored an 82 and passed with room to spare.

Happy to answer questions if anyone's struggling. What section is giving you the most trouble? Also curious what resources others found most useful — there's so much out there and a lot of it is honestly not worth your time.