When you start using formulas in Excel you need to understand cell references. One thing that people find a bit confusing is absolute cell references. You can read about them here.
If you want to avoid (at least for a little while) learning about absolute cell references, you can use a named range, which will act like an absolute reference without the hassle of getting your head around all those dollar signs.
Naming a cell in Excel is very easy. Go to the name box (top left hand corner of the screen) and type in the name you would like the cell to have. In the picture below we are about to rename cell E48 with the name GrandTotal.
Try and make it something meaningful to the context. There are some rules around names that you can use. The main one is no spaces. To see the blog on naming cells look here, or for the full microsoft run down on all things naming cells, check this out.
Once you have named your cell, you can use this to reference the cell in your formula, by clicking on the cell, or by typing the name. Once you start typing, the name will show and you can choose it rather than having to type in the whole thing.
You can see in the picture above that the formula in E48 has used the named cells, rather than the usual cell references.
So, referencing a named cell, makes it an absolute reference, makes your formulas easier to understand, and is easy to do!