hey rolm9751, due to cost and logistical reasons i wasn't able to/decided against a physical lab setup early on and just dealt with the Richard Deal's CCNA Study Guide, Cisco Press INTRO and ICND books along with the Boson Network and Exam Simulators. These materials got me over the line but if you read one or two of my earlier post's in other threads, you'll notice a little disappointment in the exam preparation path.
i understood the fact you must get to grips with all the basics first and then apply them in the exam scenario, but NO WHERE could i find suitable exam preparation material to match what was in the CCNA exam.
As an example, without getting into too much detail, a question that encompasses 4-5 switches and 2-3 routers and multiple VLANS was going to be a little hard for me to setup in a home lab and getting to grips with it in a simulator took more time, but was more cost effective.
As i was attempting the CCNA under my own steam, i didn't have many sources of knowledge to access, this invaluable forum being one of them.
sorry for the rant, hope this helps
later
H.