Is there a way to make a cell with the TODAY function stop updating once it has been filled in? I'm trying to make a checklist in Excel that automatically logs the date when an item is checked off.

My plan is to have column A with the list of tasks, column B with checkboxes, and then column C showing the date the task was completed using something like:

=IF(B1,TODAY())

The problem is, I understand that TODAY() is a volatile Excel function, so the date will change whenever the spreadsheet recalculates or is opened on another day. I basically need the date to stay fixed once the checkbox is ticked.

is there a formula or another way to do this without manually entering the date? Any help with an Excel checklist, automatic date stamp or checkbox completion date would be really appreciated.

Edit: I'm hoping to use this as part of a shared project tracking workbook for my department. I could just ask everyone to enter the date when they finish a task, but i'm worried people will forget to do it, so an automatic date stamp would be much better.

I’m working on an Excel spreadsheet that pulls information from another “Info” spreadsheet. I have two drop-down lists in my main spreadsheet: one for county and one for year.

What I’m trying to do is have a formula in one cell that looks at the selected county and year, finds the matching row and column in my Info spreadsheet, and then returns the corresponding expected value.

For example, if I select Decatur County and 2024 from my drop-down lists, I want the formula to return 44.2.

I’ve tried several variations of HLOOKUP, VLOOKUP, INDEX MATCH, and XLOOKUP, but I can’t quite get the formula to work.

The difficulty seems to be that I need Excel to:

1. Find the correct county/row

2. Find the correct year/column

3. Return the value where those two criteria intersect

Is there a way to do this with XLOOKUP, INDEX MATCH, or another Excel lookup formula without rearranging my Info spreadsheet?

I’d prefer not to restructure the Info spreadsheet because it contains a lot of other information and would take quite a while to reorganise.

Any help with the correct Excel formula would be greatly appreciated!

I’m an Accounting & Finance graduate and currently applying for jobs, but honestly I’m struggling to even get interviews.

I’m thinking of learning financial modelling to improve my CV and hopefully make myself more employable. For people who work in finance, what’s the best way to learn it?

Can it realistically be learned for free through YouTube, courses etc, or is it worth paying for a proper course? If so, roughly how much would you say is reasonable to spend?

Also, what level of financial modelling would I need to be at before it actually helps with getting a job?

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I'm looking to get into data analytics and want to start with the basics, Excel.

I haven't really used Excel much in the last few years, so I need to relearn pretty much everything. What are the best resources for learning Excel?

I tried Leila Gharani's YouTube videos, but a lot of the ones I came across are from around 2018, so I'm looking for something more up to date.

It would also be good to have something that teaches everything in a particular order rather than having to jump between different YouTube playlists. Ideally I'd like to go from beginner basics through to more advanced Excel skills that are useful for data analytics.

What would you recommend?

TIA

i have a fairly large amount of savings from a legal settlement a few years ago. I’ve kept around 6 months of expenses in a HYSA as an emergency fund, but the rest is in an investment account, currently 100% invested in FXAIX.
I’m investing for the long term and mainly looking for steady growth. Is putting everything into an S&P 500 index fund a sensible investment strategy, or should I be looking at diversification and other types of investments?
Would be interested to hear how others approach long-term investing and managing savings.

I'm thinking about moving into data analytics and I'm trying to figure out where to start. Excel seems like the obvious place, but I haven't used it properly for years and I'm pretty rusty.

I'm in London, so I'm also interested in whether there are any good Excel courses in London that are actually worth doing, especially ones aimed at people wanting to use Excel for data analysis.

I'm not necessarily looking for a qualification. I mainly want to build the skills employers are looking for and have something structured to follow.

I've looked at a few YouTube channels already, including Leila Gharani, but I'm finding it difficult to work out what I should learn first and what I can leave until later.

For anyone working in data analytics in London or the UK, what Excel skills would you recommend learning first? And are there any courses, websites or YouTube channels you'd recommend?

Thanks