Nerd for Rent

01/26/2026

Offering a free Excel class in a couple of weeks. Both times have the same info, so you can just pick whichever fits in your schedule better. This is designed to give good, foundational knowledge about Excel. No experience necessary.

11/13/2019

HSS is offering something new this November!

I will use my “spreadsheet powers” to analyze your (and your spouse’s) different health plan options. Then, plugging in your likely expenses for next year, premiums, HSA options, etc, I will tell you the total cost of each plan, as well as a worst-case scenario for each. This allows you to choose the cheapest possible option, potentially saving thousands per year and giving you confidence in your decision.

The cost is $75 per evaluation. You can call or message me to set up an appointment.

10/13/2015

Here's something I put together on a better way to do multivariable regression in Excel without having to use the Analysis Tookpak:

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_regression.html

In Excel, you can do regression with the Data Analysis toolpak, but there are 2 major limitations to this. The main limitation is that you have to re-run the Data Analysis tool each time you want updated results. This gets old very quickly if you want to see how various changes are affecting your fi…

10/07/2015

I'm giving a 2-day class on Microsoft Excel at the DeWitt Chamber of Commerce October 20th and 22nd from 4:30 to 6:30. You can contact me if you want to register. Cost is $50 for the full 4 hours.

http://dewitt.chambermaster.com/events/details/excel-training-class-10-22-2015-1059

This 4 hour, interactive class includes everything you need to know to begin the process of mastering Excel. Topics include: -Using and navigating Excel.

08/21/2015

Here's something I ran across the other day. A serious time and effort saver for doing lookups with 2 criteria.

http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/questions/array4.php

This Excel tutorial explains how to use an array formula to perform a two criteria lookup in Excel 2003 and older versions (with screenshots and step-by-step instructions).

08/08/2015

Here's how to pull a select amount of text out of the middle of a cell in Excel.

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_middletext.html

Sometimes it can be useful to get only part of a text string. That is what the MID function is for. But MID alone is not enough if the part of the string you want isn't always in the same place. For example, you may want to separate a list of full names into separate first and last names. But using…

07/25/2015

Here's how to use Conditional Formatting to make borders appear automatically as you continue to add data to your spreadsheet.

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_autoborders.html

One of the best easiest ways to make a spreadsheet look nice, especially if it is going to be printed, is to add borders. But, if you are constantly adding data to your spreadsheet, that means you also have to be constantly updating those borders. Below is a way to make borders appear automatically…

07/12/2015

Ever had a spreadsheet with loads of intermediate calculations cluttering it up? You can usually get rid of most of them by using array formulas.

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_arrayformulas.html

Often times if you are making a spreadsheet with more complicated calculations, you will have rows of data used for intermediate calculations before you get to the actual result. In fact it is not uncommon for me to have multiple sheets worth of this. You then have to hide the rows or sheets to keep…

06/11/2015

Here's how to get your lookup functions to search in reverse order (ex. bottom to top).

http://howtouseexcel.net/how-to-make-vlookup-search-from-the-bottom-to-the-top-of-the-list

Normally, VLOOKUP searches data from top to bottom. But when you have a long list of data and you want to get the latest data at the bottom of the list (instead of the older data at the top), you can’t use VLOOKUP because it always returns the first one it sees from the top, not the latest one.

04/26/2015

Here's how to limit values to a dropdown list in Excel. Very useful for keeping spellings consistent, which is nice when doing lookups, sumifs, countifs, etc.

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_dropdown.html

Sometimes you want to limit what the user can input to a certain list of items. Sometimes it is merely convenient for the user, other times you want to force the user to avoid mispellings so that you can use things like SUMIF or COUNTIF in a different part of the spreadsheet. Regardless, it is easy…

03/30/2015

Here's one I made on how to protect your VBA code.

http://hasenmiller.com/resources_protectVBA.html

People don't usually try to change your VBA code. But if they do try, and they don't know what they're doing, it can be a real mess. Here I show how to combat that by password protecting your VBA code. (To see how to protect your workbooks and worksheets themselves, click here.)