Alright, so this week I decided to really get a handle on my trading, you know, like really see where my money was going. So, I started tracking everything in a “trade value chart.” It’s week eight now, and I figured I’d share how it’s been going.
First off, I had to pick a way to track it. I thought about just scribbling in a notebook, but nah, that’s too messy for me. I wanted something I could easily update and, like, see the progress visually. So, I went with a simple spreadsheet. Google Sheets, to be exact, ’cause it’s free and easy to use.
Setting Up the Spreadsheet
I opened up a new sheet and made some columns. Here’s what I went with:
- Date: Gotta know when the trade happened, right?
- Asset: What I traded (like, the stock ticker or whatever).
- Buy/Sell: Pretty self-explanatory.
- Quantity: How many shares, contracts, or whatever I was dealing with.
- Price: The price per unit.
- Total Value: Quantity times price. This is the key number.
- Fees: My broker charges commissions, so I need to factor those in,otherwise I cannot figure out the real situation.
- Net Value:Total Value minus the fees,so I can know exactly how much I got.
- Notes: Anything important about the trade, like why I made it or how I was *’s my mood!
At the start, it was kinda tedious, putting in all the numbers from the past week’s trades. I had to dig through my broker statements and, ugh, it felt like homework. But, I pushed through, got everything entered. Seeing all those numbers lined up, it was already starting to feel more organized.
Then, the fun part (well, fun-ish): making the chart. I just highlighted all the data, clicked the “Insert Chart” button, and played around with the options until I had a line chart showing the “Net Value” over time.
I spent some time staring at the chart. It was, like, a visual representation of my trading decisions. I could see the ups and downs, where I made good calls and where I messed up. It was kinda sobering, to be honest.
Now, at the end of each trading day, I just add in the new trades. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s way less of a pain than doing it all at once. Plus, I can see the chart update in real-time, which is kinda motivating.
So, that’s where I’m at with my trade value chart. It’s not rocket science, but it’s helped me get a much better grip on my trading. I feel more in control, and I’m definitely learning from my mistakes (and my wins!). I would recommend you to do so.
