Google Docs - Gone Wild

Case introduced me to Google Docs. He created one to help track the inter-city travel costs (Train from PAR to AMD, ferry from AMD to LDN, etc) which made me happy. Previously I'd just been keeping track of costs on random sheets of paper and cocktail napkins.

Of course, poor Casey had no idea that I am a spreadsheet fiend. One list including details and prices for inter-city travel exploded into separate sheets for hotels, for intra-city travel, and for cost totals.

Really, Google Docs could be referred to as a glorifed MS Office.

Until I found one little equation that changed everything, and made life so much easier:

=Index(ImportHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=EURUSD=X","table",1),8,2)

With this equation, Google Docs will automatically calculate the exchange rate - however it may fluctuate - within a few minutes of accuracy.

The link above calculates Euros to Dollars. For our London expenditures, all I have to do is change the 3-letter abbreviation to the appropriate currency. For example, to calculate Pounds in Dollars, I'd just use:

=Index(ImportHTML("http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GBPUSD=X","table",1),8,2)

I understand how this could seem exceedingly lazy and unnecessary. Must people have widgets on their computers with the current exchange rate, and can just type in the rate x charge and get the answer quickly.

But when dealing in hundreds of dollars, a fluctuation of 1.41 to 1.47 can significantly shift costs, and throw off the accuracy of a spreadsheet. And I hate inaccuracy.

But Google Docs? Google Docs I love.