Neg cost

[4Profits]

Mark,

I have done something or changed some setting and I can't figure out what. I have some stocks that I have purchased and sold several times. For example I purchased at 12 sold at 15 stayed out for a while and re purchased. now it shows a neg cost when I purchased again. Any idea what setting will allow me to quit including the old costs in the calculations?

[Mark]

Hi 4Profits,

Which cost field are you looking at? There are several different types of cost. It sounds like you are looking at historical out of pocket cost. The historical out of pocket cost figures out your out of pocket cost since your very first transaction. If you've sold it for more than you paid, it is quite possible to have a negative historical cost.

Example:

Buy 10 shares for $1000
Sell 10 shares for $2000
Buy 5 shares for $800

At this point your historical out of pocket cost is -$200. You've sold $2000 worth, and only paid a total of $1800.

There is also a "current" out of pocket cost figure available. For the above example this current out of pocket cost would be $800. I suspect you are looking for this field, but have the historical one selected instead.

[4Profits]

Mark,

I am really looking at the graphs. I am getting a neg historical cost and would rather have current cost. After I changed the graphical option and removed historical I get what I expected. I just forgot how to find it and I don't recall changing it in the first place.

Thanks,

Jim

[Mark]

Hi Jim,

Graphs can plot either historical or current out of pocket cost or gain. To change it to plot current out of pocket cost, turn off "Graphs / Options / Historical Cost". You can also tell by looking at the graph's legend. A "-H" indicates historical cost, and a "-C" indicates current.