I have put a bit of work into making a Money Management Calculator and Log. My goal was to make a CalcuLog. A live log you use for Money Management. I believe I have succeeded in making this log.
I have taken a few ideas from other logs I have seen, but 95%+ of this log is my original coding. I am looking for a few people to test it for accuracy.
How to use:
Fist thing, this was built with the assumption the person using this log will have a MT4 platform that can have DDE enabled with. This log can be used without it but it is tedious to keep the current values updated by hand.
The next assumption is that your trading style only moves your stops forward, and never backwards. Thus if you move your stop to Break Even then you can never move it to -1, only to +1 and above.
The next assumption is that you are assuming any and every trade can hit it’s stop. This means, until you move your stop to BE you are at risk on that trade. I think of it as, money below the stop is yours (loss or gain) and money between the stop and the actual value is float. The float money can not be counted towards nor against your Money Management. Thus this log assumes upon entering a trade the worst case scenario (They all hit there stops) for the trades entered above it for MM purposes.
Given this fact, I have given a field in the log called Adj. Stop (Adjusted Stop). As your trades progress, you will change your stop value here, not in the Stop field. There is also a Swap field. This field will also be adjusted daily as you will gain or lose swap each day a trade is open. Both of these fields are clearly marked. If you are using DDE, this log is very accurate, but there is still rounding errors with excel I can not get around. Thus any inconsistencies you can add or subtract this amount in the swap field at the end of the trade.
You first go to the data tab. In here you will find 3 options that pertain to you. First is Manual or MetaTrader for updates. If manual you will have to update the fields in yellow on a regular basis, I recommend MetaTrader. If you choose MetaTrader, please insure MT4 (Or equivalent IBFX Trader, MIB, etc) has DDE enabled and open. If DDE is not enabled you will enable it and restart MT4. Next is IBFX Mini (Yes or No). I do not know about other brokers, but IBFX uses a different command to retrieve data from the DDE on a mini account. The finial piece is your account currency. I made four options (USD, EUR, GBP and CHF), I am sorry if I did not add your currency, but it is a lot of work to add more and it probably will not get into the calculator until next month if you ask, but I will add it. This is important because it calculates the true pip value for that currency as well as the true position size in your local currency.
The calculator tab is pretty self explanatory (Lots of tool tips). You will probably not use it if you are using the live log as all the features of the calculator are built into the log.
In the Log tab (July 2007 etc.):
First and foremost. This log was built for the purpose of having a new log each month. This means at the start of the month you will make a copy of the Blank Log and rename it to whatever month/week you want.
All of the top input values are in maroon.
Account: You select the type of account you are using, as this is important for determining what pip values are worth.
Currency: All this does is give your correct symbol for the monetary value you chose.
Balance: This is the exact balance before your first trade is open in the log. If you have open trades, wait until they close before starting a new log / month. There is room for 200 trades per log, this should go well over 1 month if needed.
A Trade R:R: This is a value you set for how much actual R:R you made on a trade for you to consider it an A trade. This is not a pretrade judgement.
B Trade R:R: Same as above
C Trade R:R: Same as above
Max Risk Per Trade: This is the max Risk you want to assign to any given trade. This value will warn you if you exceed it.
Max Leverage Per Trade: This is the max Leverage you want to assign to any given trade. This value will warn you if you exceed it.
The last item you will notice (And this is not a changeable number, display only) is your Current Account Risk. This tells you, given your current adjusted stops what total % of your account is currently at risk. I use this very often as my personal MM says not to have more then 5% of my account at risk at any given time.
Making your Entries:
I have made this as easy as I possibly could. Always enter values from left to right as many formulas are called based on even changes. Such as the position size will be locked in as soon as the trade opens, and the pip value will lock in when the trade is closed. To unlock those values, you need to make the trade neither open nor closed (you can do this by simply removing your entry number). A warning on this though, as the market is fluid, unlocking this value will cause it to recalculate and this can cause your numbers to be incorrect, especially if the market has moved 300 pips or more.
First, pick a pair. This will automatically set the pip value for the pair.
Next, place the amount of lots you wish to make. Upon doing this, it will calculate your actual pip value, your position size, your adjusted balance (Accounts for open trades), and tells you the leverage you will be making for this trade. At this time reduce the lot size until you are at a leverage that is acceptable.
Next, use the pull down to select the position you are going to take (Long/Short).This initiates the calculations for many fields.
Next, place the value at witch you are entering the trade. You will notice that the trade status is now open and it will lock in your position size as well as activate your adjusted values to the far right.
On the open of your trade, your Adj Stop and your Stop values should be the exact same. As you move your stop in real time, you would simply update the adj stop. You will notice it directly effects youe adjusted P/L and Balance to the far right.
T/P does nothing at this time but be there for your record keeping
Exit is where the trade ended. Upon placing a value here, it will close the trade. You will notice youe adjusted values close and become real values.
That’s about it. I know I am missing something, but I have made it as self explanatory as possible. It is late and I will leave this with this.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I only ask that you ask question on this thread and not in PM’s. If you have a question, more then likely someone else does to and there is no reason not to kill multiple birds with one stone.
Thanks, and please report any calculation errors or bugs to me so I can fix them in a timely manner.
Que.
I have taken a few ideas from other logs I have seen, but 95%+ of this log is my original coding. I am looking for a few people to test it for accuracy.
How to use:
Fist thing, this was built with the assumption the person using this log will have a MT4 platform that can have DDE enabled with. This log can be used without it but it is tedious to keep the current values updated by hand.
The next assumption is that your trading style only moves your stops forward, and never backwards. Thus if you move your stop to Break Even then you can never move it to -1, only to +1 and above.
The next assumption is that you are assuming any and every trade can hit it’s stop. This means, until you move your stop to BE you are at risk on that trade. I think of it as, money below the stop is yours (loss or gain) and money between the stop and the actual value is float. The float money can not be counted towards nor against your Money Management. Thus this log assumes upon entering a trade the worst case scenario (They all hit there stops) for the trades entered above it for MM purposes.
Given this fact, I have given a field in the log called Adj. Stop (Adjusted Stop). As your trades progress, you will change your stop value here, not in the Stop field. There is also a Swap field. This field will also be adjusted daily as you will gain or lose swap each day a trade is open. Both of these fields are clearly marked. If you are using DDE, this log is very accurate, but there is still rounding errors with excel I can not get around. Thus any inconsistencies you can add or subtract this amount in the swap field at the end of the trade.
You first go to the data tab. In here you will find 3 options that pertain to you. First is Manual or MetaTrader for updates. If manual you will have to update the fields in yellow on a regular basis, I recommend MetaTrader. If you choose MetaTrader, please insure MT4 (Or equivalent IBFX Trader, MIB, etc) has DDE enabled and open. If DDE is not enabled you will enable it and restart MT4. Next is IBFX Mini (Yes or No). I do not know about other brokers, but IBFX uses a different command to retrieve data from the DDE on a mini account. The finial piece is your account currency. I made four options (USD, EUR, GBP and CHF), I am sorry if I did not add your currency, but it is a lot of work to add more and it probably will not get into the calculator until next month if you ask, but I will add it. This is important because it calculates the true pip value for that currency as well as the true position size in your local currency.
The calculator tab is pretty self explanatory (Lots of tool tips). You will probably not use it if you are using the live log as all the features of the calculator are built into the log.
In the Log tab (July 2007 etc.):
First and foremost. This log was built for the purpose of having a new log each month. This means at the start of the month you will make a copy of the Blank Log and rename it to whatever month/week you want.
All of the top input values are in maroon.
Account: You select the type of account you are using, as this is important for determining what pip values are worth.
Currency: All this does is give your correct symbol for the monetary value you chose.
Balance: This is the exact balance before your first trade is open in the log. If you have open trades, wait until they close before starting a new log / month. There is room for 200 trades per log, this should go well over 1 month if needed.
A Trade R:R: This is a value you set for how much actual R:R you made on a trade for you to consider it an A trade. This is not a pretrade judgement.
B Trade R:R: Same as above
C Trade R:R: Same as above
Max Risk Per Trade: This is the max Risk you want to assign to any given trade. This value will warn you if you exceed it.
Max Leverage Per Trade: This is the max Leverage you want to assign to any given trade. This value will warn you if you exceed it.
The last item you will notice (And this is not a changeable number, display only) is your Current Account Risk. This tells you, given your current adjusted stops what total % of your account is currently at risk. I use this very often as my personal MM says not to have more then 5% of my account at risk at any given time.
Making your Entries:
I have made this as easy as I possibly could. Always enter values from left to right as many formulas are called based on even changes. Such as the position size will be locked in as soon as the trade opens, and the pip value will lock in when the trade is closed. To unlock those values, you need to make the trade neither open nor closed (you can do this by simply removing your entry number). A warning on this though, as the market is fluid, unlocking this value will cause it to recalculate and this can cause your numbers to be incorrect, especially if the market has moved 300 pips or more.
First, pick a pair. This will automatically set the pip value for the pair.
Next, place the amount of lots you wish to make. Upon doing this, it will calculate your actual pip value, your position size, your adjusted balance (Accounts for open trades), and tells you the leverage you will be making for this trade. At this time reduce the lot size until you are at a leverage that is acceptable.
Next, use the pull down to select the position you are going to take (Long/Short).This initiates the calculations for many fields.
Next, place the value at witch you are entering the trade. You will notice that the trade status is now open and it will lock in your position size as well as activate your adjusted values to the far right.
On the open of your trade, your Adj Stop and your Stop values should be the exact same. As you move your stop in real time, you would simply update the adj stop. You will notice it directly effects youe adjusted P/L and Balance to the far right.
T/P does nothing at this time but be there for your record keeping
Exit is where the trade ended. Upon placing a value here, it will close the trade. You will notice youe adjusted values close and become real values.
That’s about it. I know I am missing something, but I have made it as self explanatory as possible. It is late and I will leave this with this.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I only ask that you ask question on this thread and not in PM’s. If you have a question, more then likely someone else does to and there is no reason not to kill multiple birds with one stone.
Thanks, and please report any calculation errors or bugs to me so I can fix them in a timely manner.
Que.
Attached File(s)
Que
( i changed the Mt4 fetch because i use OpenOffice..had to add a little bit (;1) )