https://docs.google.com/a/cougars.csusm.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Agzf4asX_bvsdHBqZERkQmowWHhRQXRwbzVVa2ZlQUE#gid=1
You'll notice, if you look carefully, that in the Google spreadsheet the stock symbols are not live links (I tried and failed using: =HYPERLINK(url,cell_text)) whereas in the Excel they are, see below. I like the fact that that by clicking on the live links, I can easily access up to the minute info on each stock and on the market in general. Yahoo Finance is a great vehicle to learn about personal finance/investing from the website itself and from a well designed "news and Info" tab including a Message Board where I can ask questions and learn from other investors and get answers pronto.
I haven't yet found the time and knowledge to archive all my my resources and connect them with my blog except for a simple personal folder where I learned how to download the closing prices of my stocks via a portfolio you can create on Yahoo Finance once you're logged in. The "download" feature can only be linked with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet so far. All other resources are mainly from Yahoo Finance, the free website I have been recommending, along with MyMoney.gov, great resource too!
But the best advice I ever got was reading an article by Warren Buffett (pupil of Ben Graham) who repeated that one has to keep his investment strategy simple: "If you cannot explain to a 12 year old WHY are you investing in a particular company's stock, you should not invest in that stock". All my five stocks pass this test, based on my positive personal experience reinforced by their good reputation and solid financial performance over many decades : I shop at Costco, drive a Ford, use Johnson&Johnson items and medications, use a PC with Microsoft Windows 8 (Win 7 was just fine though), and have seen how pasteurized milk made by Nestle literally saved many children from malnutrition.
Next week I'll try to go over how to link your personal spreadsheet with a portfolio you create at Yahoo Finance.
20portfolio.xls |