CFP exam case study questions: a worked household case
CFP case-study questions reuse a household fact pattern to test several distinct decisions. Map the goals, resources and constraints, then answer each multiple-choice question using only its relevant facts. Work through the three original questions below to practise cash flow, liquidity and concentration analysis.
What you will practise in the shared case
Reserve cash for a dated goal
- Relevant inputs
- Cash, tuition bill and protected reserve
- Method to test
- Assign each dollar once.
Project six months of saving
- Relevant inputs
- Monthly take-home income and required outflows
- Method to test
- Separate flows from existing balances.
Measure employer-stock concentration
- Relevant inputs
- Stock value, total portfolio and employment exposure
- Method to test
- Calculate the weight and identify the linked risk.
An original case-reading demonstration
Consider a household with tuition due in six months, a retirement goal in 20 years and employer stock representing much of its wealth. These facts can support several different questions. The correct reasoning changes with the task, even though the shared facts remain the same.
Near-term funding
- Relevant facts
- Tuition amount, deadline and available cash
- Decision
- Assess liquidity before taking risk.
Portfolio concentration
- Relevant facts
- Employer stock and employment income
- Decision
- Analyze combined household exposure.
Planning sequence
- Relevant facts
- Goals and missing information
- Decision
- Gather or clarify facts before recommending.
Read each linked question as a separate task
Do not carry an assumption from your answer to one question into the next unless the case explicitly instructs you to. Identify the relevant facts for the current task and distinguish supplied information from your own inference.
Build a compact fact map: goals and dates, assets and ownership, income and spending, risk constraints and tax assumptions. You do not need to use every fact in every answer. The skill is selecting the facts that determine this decision.
One case, three different questions
Original teaching case: Jordan and Alex have $30,000 total cash, of which $10,000 is an emergency reserve they want to preserve. A $12,000 tuition bill is due in six months. Monthly take-home income is $8,000; all required monthly outflows are $7,000. Employer stock is $90,000 of their separate $150,000 investment portfolio, and Jordan’s salary comes from that employer. Ignore returns, taxes and fees. Use only the facts relevant to each question.
Cash
- Amount or date
- $30,000 now
- Possible use
- Near-term goals and reserves
Tuition
- Amount or date
- $12,000 in six months
- Possible use
- A dated funding obligation
Protected reserve
- Amount or date
- $10,000
- Possible use
- Cash unavailable for another goal
Monthly surplus
- Amount or date
- $8,000 less $7,000
- Possible use
- Recurring saving capacity
Employer stock
- Amount or date
- $90,000 of $150,000
- Possible use
- Concentration analysis
Try it 1
After reserving tuition and the emergency fund from existing cash, what cash remains unassigned? A: $8,000. B: $18,000. C: $20,000.
Reveal answer and reasoning
A: $8,000.
$30,000 - $12,000 - $10,000 = $8,000. Monthly income is not needed to answer this balance-at-a-date question.
Try it 2
If the monthly surplus is saved for six months, how much new cash is accumulated? A: $1,000. B: $6,000. C: $48,000.
Reveal answer and reasoning
B: $6,000.
($8,000 - $7,000) × 6 = $6,000. Do not use the answer to the prior question as the monthly starting balance.
Try it 3
What share of the investment portfolio is employer stock, and which extra fact matters? A: 30%, tuition date. B: 60%, employment income depends on the same employer. C: 90%, monthly spending.
Reveal answer and reasoning
B: 60%, with linked employment exposure.
$90,000 ÷ $150,000 = 60%. Employer-related investment and earnings exposure can interact. This calculation identifies concentration; it does not by itself prescribe a sale.
Eliminate answers using the task and the facts
Classify an alternative before deciding whether its number looks familiar. It may answer the wrong time period, use an asset that is unavailable, apply an unsupported tax assumption or recommend an action before required client information is known. Those are reasoning errors even if the arithmetic inside the alternative is correct.
For a calculation, write units next to the result. Dollars per month, a one-time balance and a percentage are not interchangeable. For a next-step question, write the last completed planning output. For a shared case, return to the stated facts rather than treating your previous response as a new fact.
When two answers remain plausible, identify the fact that distinguishes them. If your explanation requires inventing information, re-read the stem and the question. The objective is selecting the best response under the supplied facts, not designing a different household scenario.
Questions about this topic
Does a case study require an essay?
No. The published US CFP exam question types are multiple choice, including the questions attached to a case study.
Where are the timing and break rules?
See the exam-format guide for timing, sessions and breaks. This page focuses on solving questions from shared case facts.
Sources and editorial notes
Source check: . MiloPrep editorial team. Official rules and provider descriptions are distinguished from our original examples and study suggestions.
- CFP Board: exam format
170 MCQs, two three-hour sessions, 85 questions per session, three question styles and a 40-minute scheduled break.
- CFP Board: applying the planning process
Seven-step process, integration factors and scope-of-engagement responsibilities.
US CFP scope. Study examples are simplified and are not individualized financial, tax or legal advice. No independent CFP professional review is claimed. MiloPrep is not affiliated with or endorsed by CFP Board or the compared providers.
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