You don't need everything

Not many of my friends like my Excel post. Just like my previous post, customize the right click menu may be useful to certain group of people, but not everyone. I post that just want my friends to know, there is such function, if you interested, you may find out more.

You bought a map, but you won't memorize every places on every page (unless you are taxi driver). You may just look up for the location of the place you want. You bought a dictionary, but you won't memorize every words from A to Z (unless you are taking TOEFL). You may just look up for the words that you want.Information are available every place and they keep changing. There is really no need to push yourself to know everything, to be good at everything. It will just make yourself tired. Just like you are going to eat Buffet, you don't need to force yourself eat everything, just pick a few that you like, then you are done.

There are many investment strategies, you don't need to be expert on every techniques. You don't need to be Warren Buffett to get rich. You just need to know roughly what strategies are available, pick up what suit you, then follow it.

Live is not about trying everything, but, be yourself.

Customize Excel Right Click Menu

You can change the "right click menu" or "Popup menu" or "Context Menu" in Microsoft Excel. For example, remove the "Pick from drop-down list...", "Add Watch" and "Hyperlink..." or even add in Macro you want. You may choose your own Icon from the available list. :)

Google "Excel context menu" and you can learn from there. But this required some programming.

Below is my version of menu. I set up for (a) General right click (b) Query (c) Pivot Table.

Private Sub ResetContentMenu()
Dim cBut As CommandBarControl
Dim myControl As CommandBarControl

    On Error Resume Next
      'Format right click content - General
       With Application.CommandBars("Cell")
            .Reset
            .Controls("Pick from drop-down list...").Visible = False
            .Controls("Add Watch").Visible = False
            .Controls("Create List...").Visible = False
            .Controls("Hyperlink...").Visible = False
            .Controls("Look up...").Visible = False
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=443
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=458
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=852
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 557, "PERSONAL.XLSB!RemoveFormula")
            .Controls(.Controls.Count).BeginGroup = True
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 578, "PERSONAL.XLSB!TrimColumn")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 440, "PERSONAL.XLSB!AutoFit")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 578, "PERSONAL.XLSB!TrimColumn")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 630, "PERSONAL.XLSB!ConvertDate")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 288, "PERSONAL.XLSB!CheckActiveCellInfo")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Cell", 222, "PERSONAL.XLSB!FilterString")
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=293
            .Controls(.Controls.Count).BeginGroup = True
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=294
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=296
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=297
      End With

       With Application.CommandBars("Query")
            .Reset
            Set myControl = .Controls.Add(Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=443)
            myControl.BeginGroup = True
            .Controls.Add Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=458
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Query", 440, "PERSONAL.XLSB!AutoFit")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Query", 288, "PERSONAL.XLSB!CheckActiveCellInfo")
          Call AddMacroContentMenu("Query", 222, "PERSONAL.XLSB!FilterString")
      End With
      
      'Format right click content - Pivot Table
       With Application.CommandBars("PivotTable Context Menu")
          .Reset
       Set myControl = .Controls.Add(Type:=msoControlButton, ID:=443)
       myControl.BeginGroup = True
       
      End With
      Set myControl = Nothing

On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Sub AddMacroContentMenu(myComBarName As String, myFaceID As Double, myMacro As String)
'Purpose: link to "SetupCommandBar" macro
Dim cmdButton As CommandBarButton
Dim strMyAction As String

Set cmdButton = Application.CommandBars(myComBarName).Controls.Add(Type:=msoControlButton)
strMyAction = Right(myMacro, Len(myMacro) - InStr(1, myMacro, "!"))

With cmdButton
   .FaceId = myFaceID
   .Caption = strMyAction
   .OnAction = myMacro
   .TooltipText = strMyAction
   .Style = msoButtonIconAndWrapCaption
End With

Set cmdButton = Nothing

End Sub

How to build your first pail of gold (第一桶金)

I would like to share my tips on how to build your first pail of gold (第一桶金).

First of all, the most important is have a strong will. If you want to success, then build your mind that you really want to success. If you want to get rich, then write it down, print it out on paper with font size 72 "I want to get rich!!". Read to yourself 3 times a day. Hypnotize yourself, do whatever you can to build this strong mind. This determination will drive you throughout every hurdles. With this, you know what you really want; with this, you will ignore all the distraction; with this, you will push yourself break through your limitation and lead to the correct path. Simple step? NO! 99% of people can't.  Why? Human nature-> Laziness. That's why not many people success.

Below are just 3 simple yet powerful tips:
(1) Manage your expenses and desire
If your income increase 4% yearly while your expense also increase 4%, then you will not get richer. You don't need to spend more just because you have more money. The $1 you save and invest may earn another $1. But the $1 you spend will be gone forever. Of cos I don't mean don't spend at all. Just manage your expenses. A $3 chicken rice will make you full while $130 lobster may only make you half full. You may eat lobster once a year, if you can afford, but you don't need to have great feast every month.
Human desire is unlimited. Today you may want to drive a Toyota, tomorrow you may think of BMW. But actually you may just need a car. If you need a bag, you may buy yourself a Coach but not necessary a LV. A LV is longer a LV if everybody, include Pasar Aunty also carry a LV. Always ask yourself, "is this a need or want?" You will find out, there are not many things that you "need" to keep you survive and most of the "want" can wait.
(2) Invest in yourself.
Build your earning power. I always believe work hard to earn your salary is the most basic, yet safest and highest return investment. Read more on "Best Investment tip"
(3) Learn various investment tools.
When you have some "bullets", then you can invest in various investment tools. Even you want to buy TOTO,  you need to have money to buy TOTO,  right? (by the way, buy TOTO is not investment.) Read more investment books, (Read more on "Investment books"), know the CORRECT investment habits and methods. Let your money earn more money.

My Excel Investment Portfolio Scrap Book

This is the enhanced version of stock calculators in the previous post.
New Features:

(1) Allow stimulation/record for multiple purchases or dollar averaging. As shown below, you can input multiple purchases and the average purchase price is auto calculated.

(2) A summary page of total portfolio; included a reminder to cut-loss if the loss of individual stock exceed 7%.

You can download the excel here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7xvtuenyzlb1l39/StockCalculator_v4.xlsx

Buy minimum 1000 lots?

One of my good friends learn to buy share by buying the minimum of 1000 lots. This trigger my thinking that, "Is it ok to buy the minimum of 1000 lots?".

Most trading agency charge minimum $25 per transaction. If you buy 1000 lots, the break-even minimum charge of $25 => $25/0.28% = $8,926. In other words, if you buy a share of price $8.926, they will charge you $25, same as the minimum charge.

Then what's the impact of charges over the total cost/invested amount? As shown below, if you buy 1000 lots of a share with price $0.5, you will be charge of $25.24, which is equal to 25.24/(500+ 25.24) = 4.8%. So, if you invest just $525.24, you loss 4.8% immediately. Similar with price $1 share. You invest $1,025.48, you loss 2.5% due to charges.

Conclusion: when the share price is small, try to buy more lots. Try to make sure every transaction cost at least $2,000 (e.g. 2,000 lots of share with price $1 or 1000 lots of share with price $2).

Tips for recording your expenses

Have you read any personal financial planning (理财) book before? Most books have a common topic about recording your expense. I followed that also. But it doesn't work! No matter I install an App or write in on a notebook or keep my receipts and record it  later. This is because human nature ---Lazy.
Another possible reason is: some may think that, it doesn't worth the effort to record $1 expense. It is very troublesome record every single expense.
Eventually, for whatever reasons, high chance that this method will fail.

Few years back, I found out a solution: just record whatever balance in your bank is enough. This will be the closing balance for the month and also the opening balance of the following month. Taking "closing" - "opening"(which equal to movement) will be your expenses for the month. As shown below:

Beside this, if you can work harder to record "Big expense/income for the month (e.g. buy LV bag, strike 4D )" plus "fix expenses(e.g. Children school fee, Join-Account contribution); you can more and less gauge and manage your $ already.

If you have investment, just add that to the movement.

If you like to keep cash in biscuit can or your case-dough(私房钱), you can add lines beneath Opening and Closing. Just make sure this file is inaccessibility from your wife. :0

You may use the following Excel and customize to your need. Give it a try. It works for me. I have been recording for 4 years already.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ktyuhe43af3aqr6/PersonalExpense.xlsx

Excel Tips 1

Excel Tips:

(1) To determine the quarter of a particular date, use formula:

=ROUNDUP(MONTH(A1)/3,0)

(2) To determine the last day of a month, use formula:

=DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+1,0)

(3) To determine no. of days between 2 dates, use hidden Excel formula:

=DATEDIF(startdate, enddate,""d"")

(4) Instead of using formula: =IF(OR(A1=1,A1=3,A1=5), TRUE, FALSE)

, use formula =IF(OR(A1={1,3,5}), TRUE, FALSE)

Replace wording in RED with your specific cell.