I'm done with this, and giving up feels great.

TL;DR I've only been taking these exams because I'm expected to, so I quit. I'm finding a different path to my happiness, but in no way am I encouraging you to quit.

This is not a boo hoo woe is me post, neither it is encouraging anyone to give up. This IS a worthwhile credential to achieve, just not for me. I passed REG and BEC on the first try, then failed AUD four times and FAR three. I came home today in tears and told my folks that I can't do it anymore. I can't take another blow like that, and I can't keep sinking money into something I'm doing out of obligation. I don't like my job. The only time of the year I don't hate my life is tax season, because I DO like taxes, but auditing the my arch nemesis. My mother, who is a retired CPA herself, agreed that these are not exams you pass out of obligation. You have to want it, and I don't. I'm going to apply for an EA instead and move to a city where there are larger firms (the one I'm working at currently has only five partners, six staff and two bookkeepers) so that I can focus on tax. Already, I feel so much better about my life and I don't dread the next six months I would have spent studying anymore. I wish you all the best, I pray you do what I couldn't, and I hope you find the fulfillment that this career path can provide.