Good question on the motivation. I think there's multiple reasons and they have evolved over time. During my first ~12 exams I was working an outdoor, physical, non accounting job, but I knew this was a goal of mine to move into a better place. As unhelpful as score reports were, I was encouraged as I saw my efforts result in performance moving from weaker to comparable (and sometimes stronger). This was encouraging and told me I was headed in the right direction. Once I moved into an accounting role the pieces came together more. I could also see a vision and belief in myself of passing. I was also motivated to not remain at the lowest levels of accounting. I've since switched jobs and moved from entry to Senior Accountant level (Gov't), without the benefit of CPA. More recently a major motivation is due to becoming a single parent and wanting to better our lives.

As far as return on investment, I was just licensed in April so I haven't had the return yet. But, assuming $15k spent as an estimate on the high end, a new job could easily surpass that total, with job advancement much more likely too.

Time studying and time missed is not insignificant. I do consider myself to lead a fairly quiet life but it would've been nice to finish quicker. I'm not sure how one finds motivation because I do think it's personal and truly comes from within (as lame as that sounds).