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Written by: Thersa Funsch

Category: Microsoft Excel

Published: 12 September 2023

Hits: 89

Sheldon: Ah, back so soon, Penny? This time for the ACCRINTM function, I presume?

Penny: Yep, you guessed it. What's the deal with ACCRINTM now?

Sheldon: Ah, the ACCRINTM function! It's like ACCRINT's less complicated sibling. While ACCRINT calculates accrued interest up to a given settlement date, ACCRINTM calculates the interest accrued from the issue date up to the maturity date.

Penny: Maturity date? Like when it grows up?

Sheldon: Haha, in a way, yes! The maturity date is when the bond "grows up" and you get back your principal amount. It's essentially the date the bond expires, and you receive your original investment back along with any final interest payments.

Penny: Got it. So, how do I use this ACCRINTM thing?

Sheldon: The formula is simpler compared to ACCRINT. It looks like this in Excel:

=ACCRINTM(issue, maturity, rate, par, [basis])

• issue: The date the bond was issued.
• maturity: The date when the bond matures.
• rate: The annual interest rate of the bond.
• par: The par or face value of the bond.
• [basis]: An optional argument, representing the day-count basis to use.

Penny: So, let me get this straight. ACCRINT is for any date, and ACCRINTM is just for when the bond matures?

Sheldon: Exactly, you're getting the hang of it. ACCRINTM is specialized for the maturity date, while ACCRINT is for any settlement date you're curious about.

Penny: Awesome, thanks Sheldon!

Sheldon: You're welcome, Penny. Ah, financial literacy, the gift that keeps on giving, like a bond but with a far higher yield of personal satisfaction.

Details

Written by: Thersa Funsch

Category: Microsoft Excel

Published: 12 September 2023

Hits: 124

Sheldon: Ah, Penny, Penny, Penny! You've come to me with a question about Microsoft Excel's ACCRINT function? I must say, your timing is impeccable; I was just updating my train schedule spreadsheet.

Penny: Uh, sure. My boss mentioned something about it at work, and it sounded like Latin to me. What's it for?

Sheldon: Ah, the ACCRINT function. "ACCRINT" is short for "Accrued Interest," and it's a tool used to calculate the interest accrued on a financial instrument like a bond between the issue date and a specified settlement date.

Penny: Interest on a bond? What's that?

Sheldon: Ah, bonds, one of the fundamental financial instruments. Imagine lending money to someone or, say, a government. In return, you receive a piece of paper—a bond—that promises you not only will your money be returned at a future date but you'll also get paid extra money as interest over time.

Penny: Okay, getting paid extra sounds good. So, how does ACCRINT work?

Sheldon: The function takes several arguments: the issue date, first interest date, settlement date, rate, par value, frequency, and basis. All these elements help in calculating the accrued interest. Don't worry; I'll break it down. The formula in Excel looks something like this:

=ACCRINT(issue_date, first_interest, settlement, rate, par, frequency, [basis], [calc_method])

• issue_date: The date when the bond was issued.
• first_interest: The date of the first interest payment.
• settlement: The date you're interested in calculating the accrued interest to.
• rate: The annual interest rate of the bond.
• par: The par or face value of the bond.
• frequency: How often interest is paid. It could be annually, semi-annually, or quarterly.
• [basis]: An optional argument that specifies the day-count basis to use.
• [calc_method]: An optional argument; it's TRUE if you want to use the exact number of days, and FALSE for otherwise.

Penny: Uh-huh. And what do I get after I put all those things in?

Sheldon: You'll receive the accrued interest as of the settlement date, calculated based on all those delightful parameters you've entered.

Penny: So if I have a bond, and I wanna know how much extra money I'm getting...?

Sheldon: Precisely! You can use the ACCRINT function to find out how much interest has accumulated on your bond up to a specific date. It's like knowing how much frosting will be on your cake before you eat it.

Penny: Got it, frosting equals good. Thanks, Sheldon!

Sheldon: You're welcome, Penny. Remember, in the world of finance and Excel, knowledge is the real power... or should I say, the ultimate "interest."

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Written by: Thersa Funsch

Category: Microsoft Excel

Published: 12 September 2023

Hits: 100

Uh, yeah, excuse me, could you go ahead and listen up? Mmmkay? So, you know, there's this function in Microsoft Excel, it's called ABS. And, uh, it's not what you might be thinking, you know, it's not about abdominal muscles or anything like that. Uh, no. It's about finding the absolute value of a number, you see.

So, uh, if you've got a number, it could be positive, could be negative, but the ABS function will make it, uh, positive. Always positive. It takes the negativity away, kinda like when someone finally fixes the Swingline stapler that's been jamming, mmmkay?

So you'd go ahead and type =ABS(-10) for instance, and Excel, it's gonna give you 10. Yes, just 10. The negative sign, it's gone, just like my red Swingline stapler that they took away from me. But I found it, I found my stapler, mmmkay?

If you put =ABS(10), it's already a positive number, so it stays 10. Nothing really changes, sorta like how they keep moving my desk but my job stays the same, mmmkay?

So to sum it up, ABS function makes everything positive. No negatives allowed. So if you could go ahead and use it properly, that would be great, mmmkay? Great.

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Written by: Thersa Funsch

Category: Microsoft Excel

Published: 12 September 2023

Hits: 129

Heyyy, Spreadsheet Lovers! 🍸 It's Lindsay Lohan (not really, don't sue us, we have no money!), and yes, I'm back—this time diving into the riveting world of Microsoft Excel. No, I'm not talking about some steamy Hollywood drama or a new blockbuster script, but the IF function in Excel is just as versatile, I promise!

What's the Big "IF"?

So, the IF function is basically like the sassy friend who tells you how it is, whether you like it or not. Imagine you're deciding whether to text your ex or not. Your bestie says, "IF you text him, THEN you're making a mistake, ELSE, keep living your fabulous life."

In Excel, the IF function does the same thing. It decides between two options based on some condition, like so:

=IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)

Setting the Mood

Before you start throwing IF functions around like confetti at a New Year's Eve party, you'll need some data. Open Excel and pour yourself a Cosmo, darling—this is going to be fun!

Let's say you have a list of movie ratings:

• Mean Girls: 7
• Freaky Friday: 6
• Parent Trap: 8

To find out if these movies are "Hit" or "Miss," you can use the IF function like:

=IF(A2>=7, "Hit", "Miss")

Sooo, "Mean Girls" would be a "Hit" (obviously!) and "Freaky Friday" would be a "Miss."

Getting a Bit Tipsy with Nested IFs

Oooh, you're still with me? Let's kick things up a notch with a twist. You can nest IF functions like you layer your cocktails. What if you want to add another category called "Average"? Let's get into it, sugar:

=IF(A2>=8, "Hit", IF(A2>=6, "Average", "Miss"))

With this formula, "Mean Girls" would be "Average" (a travesty, I know, but let's go with it for the sake of Excel).

The "AND" and "OR" of Flirting with IFs

Sometimes you're not just relying on one condition to make a decision, right? Same with the IF function. Let's mix in some ANDs and ORs:

=IF(AND(A2>=7, B2="Comedy"), "Hilarious Hit", "So-so")

Here, a movie has to have a rating of 7 or higher AND be a comedy to be a "Hilarious Hit."

IFs and Buts, Sugar

The IF function is like that favorite pair of heels you have—they just go with everything. From basic decision-making to complex scenarios, the IF function is your go-to guru for handling conditional drama in Excel.

Well, that's it for now, darlings. Remember, life's full of IFs, but you can always count on Excel to help you sort them out. Now, who needs a refill? 🍸

Ciao for now! 💋

xoxo,

Lindsay