My income statement

[Dmoney]

Thanks. IB would be my broker of choice in a heartbeat if it was an option. Filthy cheap commissions plus margin at 2.5% means you can print money.

Considering selling puts on a few Canadian companies right now:

SNC-T: Figure it can't go below about $31, worst case, can get 20% annual premiums easily with a little bit of cushion below current price
ESI-T: Liked it at $14 a week ago. It has run up to $15 unfortunately, but I didn't want to do anything before earnings on August 13th. Will reconsider then.
ENB-T: Uneventful earnings, don't love it at $40, but don't see it falling to quickly.

T-T: Watched this one run up on me from $60 to $64. Strong earnings on August 3, will consider writing longer dated puts at $62 strike if it has a down day sometime soon.

FTT-T: Back comfortably above the $23 strike price on my September puts - hope it stays between $23 and $24 so I can keep writing
TLM-T: Comfortably above the $13 strike price on my September calls - will roll over options if it looks like I will get assigned. Can add another 3 months and still make a good chunk of cash with longer dated $14 strikes.
BNS-T: Trading pretty well below my $56 strike October calls, but can easily roll out another 3+ months for a good premium. Happy with my 4% yield + another 8%+ in options premiums.

[HaroldCrump]

TLM-T: Comfortably above the $13 strike price on my September calls - will roll over options if it looks like I will get assigned.

Time value is eroding fast.
I think assignment risk is already there.
Stock closed at $13.50 today (on the TSX).
Bids on the call are around 45c. right now.

Can add another 3 months and still make a good chunk of cash with longer dated $14 strikes.

$14 is too close, IMHO.
If this rally continues, stock will be north of $14 before you know it.
As a shareholder, I hope it does

I have short TLM calls as well, but for higher strikes.

[Dmoney]

How far out are your TLM calls? At what strike?

I haven't had any time in the past couple of weeks with earnings season taking up all my time, so I haven't had any time to look at my own portfolio.
Will be taking a look at my TLM position, my FTT puts and possibly ESI after they report tomorrow.

May not do anything until after August options expire in a week.
Any other stocks you're writing covered calls/naked puts on?
Looking to get 5-10 still, and with Telus trading at $65, I probably need to switch it up a little.

[Dmoney]

Went a little crazy today, sold 20 ESI-T January 2013 $15 puts for $1.00 ($2,000 gross proceeds) and 10 TLM-T January 2013 $13 puts for $1.00 ($1,000 gross proceeds).

ESI trade gives me a 15.6% annualized premium, was sold with $0.54 buffer. Wanted to buy ESI at $14, it ran up to $15.50, now I can get it back at $14, or collect an easy premium.

TLM trade gives me an 18.0% annualized premium, was sold with $0.20 buffer. Don't mind doubling up on my TLM at $13, worst case, if it finishes September above $13, I'll roll my covered calls forward.

Currently have short exposure to 20 ESI at $15, 10 TLM at $13 and 10 FTT at $23, so $66,000 of potential stock put to me. I have $32,000 of uninvested cash, so I'm not too worried.

I'm definitely at the high end of my risk tolerance, but definitely have the resources to get back in the black if the absolute worst case happens.

[Dmoney]

Strong month in August, though the markets definitely turned against me yesterday, turning what would have been an amazing month into a pretty decent one.
Overall net worth up $5,814 (4.7%), largely due to catch-up on a pay raise that took effect in June but wasn't fully processed until mid-August. Going forward I will be getting ~$700 more after tax each month, so that should help with the savings.

Assets
Cash: $26,091(+17%: $3,786 increase) - Regular savings and catch-up pay on my raise effective from June
TFSA: $22,688 (-0.2%: $67 loss, TransAlta as usual)
Unregistered account: $76,726 (+1.7%: $1,276 gain. Moderate month, some dividends, capital gains and option premiums, though I've taken a MTM loss on some of the options.)
Employee share plan: $4,054 (+25% Rebound in company stock, plus $500 contribution.)


Liabilities
Margin: $0 (0%: no change)

Net Worth
$129,599 (+4.7%: $5,814)


July dividends were $116.72, pretty much the same as three months ago. Need to get some cash put to work. Have over $35K between bank accounts and brokerage sitting on the sidelines, so plenty of safety for my naked puts.
Option premiums for August were $862.
Total portfolio income just under $1K in August.
Year to date my average monthly portfolio income is $1,057, so I am aiming for total portfolio income of $12,000 for the year.

[GOB]

Great job, keep it up!

[Causalien]

Hmmm $1000 per month is a bit low for a portfolio of 100k+, I didn't go through all the posts, but I am guessing you are only writing options on 60% of your net value?

[Dmoney]

Yes, TFSA ($20K+) is not generating any option income, I have another $15K that is in ETFs that don't have a liquid options market, and another $35K cash all told.
Including naked puts, I'm writing options on ~$100K though, trying to get assigned to get my cash working for me.
In August I wrote about $3,000 worth of options, but because they have January strike dates, I'm spreading the income over the months that the position will be open.
Right now, based on my "straight line" accounting for my options income, I'll record ~$1,100 in options income for September (plus any new options I write this month, with FTT puts hopefully expiring out of the money, above $23).
September should be my best month so far for options premiums, but as you can see from this chart, my options income is in a nice uptrend. As my portfolio grows, I'll add a few more stocks to the strategy and hit a consistent $1,000/month in total portfolio income.

[Causalien]

Yes, TFSA ($20K+) is not generating any option income, I have another $15K that is in ETFs that don't have a liquid options market, and another $35K cash all told.
Including naked puts, I'm writing options on ~$100K though, trying to get assigned to get my cash working for me.
In August I wrote about $3,000 worth of options, but because they have January strike dates, I'm spreading the income over the months that the position will be open.
Right now, based on my "straight line" accounting for my options income, I'll record ~$1,100 in options income for September (plus any new options I write this month, with FTT puts hopefully expiring out of the money, above $23).
September should be my best month so far for options premiums, but as you can see from this chart, my options income is in a nice uptrend. As my portfolio grows, I'll add a few more stocks to the strategy and hit a consistent $1,000/month in total portfolio income.

Y-axis need numbers. XD

GJ nonetheless, I am interested in seeing what the peak earning % is for your portfolio once you get more comfortable with gauging risk and time.

[Dmoney]

Thanks, I find it extremely interesting and a good learning experience.
Also is motivating me to learn as much as possible about options, though I have a ways to go.

Y-axis need numbers. XD

Yes, it does... I always seem to forget numbers updating now.

What do you think is a reasonable % return to expect?
So far I've had a total return of ~16% YTD on the unregistered account where I'm writing options. There's ~$72K in that account now, ~$9K in cash. I'm extremely happy with how it's doing, but the time period is still way too short to be conclusive.
If I could maintain long term returns anywhere in the 10% range (ideally after inflation), I'd be ecstatic, but we'll see how realistic a target that is.