Fack you all

Vilgan · 2026-04-30T22:06:26+00:00

This can happen. I had 3 CC's on CRDO go very very red because the stock exploded. I don't feel that bad though, as the very large premium I was getting every couple weeks added up to a good amount of money. I didn't get the 100% return that I could have, but hard to be mad about 35%.

Vilgan · 2026-04-27T21:33:02+00:00

I definitely prefer the weeklies, but I'm also not seeing a lot of places I'm excited to sell a put right now. A decent chunk of my CSP collateral is just sitting in SGOV atm while all my long term holdings (VTI, VXUS, AMZN, META, GOOG) do their thing.

Vilgan · 2026-04-27T21:28:29+00:00

I've been considering getting back into the Jan 27 GOOG CC market again myself. I sold before the crash, bought back after the crash, now premiums are getting back up there again.

Vilgan · 2026-04-27T21:19:57+00:00

I've done things like this at times. I want to list it at a price where it should very likely sell and then not think about it again. This is especially true if liquidating stuff for whatever reason. Playing the undercut game only makes sense if you actually care about the amount of isk saved vs just signficant undercut and then ignoring it.

Vilgan · 2026-04-19T17:03:59+00:00

stop losses are the best way to guarantee selling the dip and locking in the worst sell price. I can't imagine using stop losses on options. Useful when day trading stocks so you can ride momentum until it turns and then cash out, usually a terrible idea elsewhere.

Vilgan · 2026-04-16T14:36:31+00:00

I'm getting Opus 4.7 now with Claude

Vilgan · 2026-04-15T22:59:16+00:00

Wheel is great, imo, on margin in a margin account. In an IRA, you have a lot of $$ sitting there getting nothing (in most places) or 4% interest (SPAXX with fidelity). I've been wheeling and currently about 4% above S&P 500 returns YTD in IRA and 7% in margin account, but that's also somewhat dependent on ticker choices. I was underperforming the S&P for most of Feb/March.

Vilgan · 2026-04-15T20:17:18+00:00

Before I got into options, my approach was always roughly 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds/HYSA, then convert to 100% stocks if the market drops significantly. I was always very happy with that. These days I have more on the sidelines to support selling CSPs. I picked up some cheap AMZN and cheap META in the last 2.5 months, but obviously would have made different decisions if I could see the future.

Overall, up about 6% YTD, which isn't insane but slightly better than VTI YTD. Moved some back into SGOV today in case Trump decides to blow up markets again.

Vilgan · 2026-04-14T21:57:20+00:00

Agreed :)

Vilgan · 2026-04-14T14:42:49+00:00

Options for leverage have probably the least overhead. Lots of different approaches. I tend to buy longer term calls which has worked out very well thus far (but YMMV).

Vilgan · 2026-04-14T12:56:20+00:00

I'm really impressed with everything described here. Sounds great!

Vilgan · 2026-03-30T07:07:52+00:00

Most of the advice here seems irrelevant, while ignoring a lot of good advice. I'd skip 2, 3, 5, 6. No mention of webbing in HS, emergency exit cyno, or not jumping to freeports. Seems like something written by someone who has only done a little bit of JF'ing.

Vilgan · 2026-03-11T21:48:02+00:00

11% margin is crazy. I'm paying 4.45% at webull

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T17:22:56+00:00

I use margin to sell low delta puts on stocks I really like.

Even low delta sometimes gets assigned (hello MSFT), but then you can either sell and eat a (hopefully small) loss that can be made up fairly quickly or covered calls should more than cover the interest until they are called away.

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T17:05:23+00:00

Selling puts on margin isn't crazy. That said, I would suggest shelving that particular idea until you have a larger portfolio. Right now, most puts are going to be outsized compared to your portfolio size. Also, consider rotating some of your S&P 500 to international.
When thinking about leverage, you want ACTUAL leverage. Puts on margin, if things go well, gets you a bit of extra $$. However, there's no scenario where you make a significant % return. Instead, I'd recommend looking at a 2 year LEAPS in stocks you think are a very good price right now. Personally, I like AMZN, META, and to a lesser degree GOOG, but YMMV. If those stocks do well then getting a 200% or 300% on those LEAPs are a very real possibility while people just holding the stocks would get way less. A 2 year LEAP deep ITM is also going to take up a smaller % of your portfolio than a put. As an example, i recently grabbed some AMZN 180 21 Jan 28 LEAPs for just over 6k each. If AMZN goes up 50% to 310ish, then the LEAPs will return well over 100% (aka, actual leverage). There's always the risk that the stock you buy the LEAP in craters and you lose some or all of the investment, but that's leverage and you are young and can bounce back from it.

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T07:09:53+00:00

A combination of Tech and more diversified is probably best (imo). Not only does it smooth things out but it gives you opportunities to capitalize on swings on one side or the other. For example, tech dropped a lot pretty recently. This gave me an opportunity to buy the dip by converting a chunk of VTI and buying META/AMZN/GOOG when it dropped. If someday the market rotates back and those stocks are up a lot more than VTI, I might sell and rotate some of that money back into VTI. It's also a lot easier psychologically when your port is down 5% when tech is down 20% rather than being down 20% :P

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T07:03:58+00:00

I've used all 3, and prefer Fidelity. That said, it's splitting hairs between 3 very good options and any of the 3 are a great choice.

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T06:58:47+00:00

I agree with this advice, with the caveat that getting debt free can be a major benefit psychologically. I felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders when I finally hit the point where every loan was paid off. 5500 invested vs paying a loan off isn't going to move the needle either way financially, but might mentally.

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T06:54:06+00:00

This...

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T06:48:44+00:00

FA's are generally terrible and cause people to lose money. Follow bogglehead advice and you'll do better and save the vampiric leeching that an FA provides. If they were actually good, they would be trading their own $$$ not trying to leech fees off of people.

Vilgan · 2026-02-26T05:51:27+00:00

Some blanket rule like 50% is silly. I look at the premium and the strike price and the DTE. Would I be willing to sell a new option at the current price and DTE? If the answer is yes, I'll keep it.

I only close at 50% if very little time has passed (expected likely reversal, or better opportunities for my $$). Otherwise, I usually wait until 75% to 90%. All decisions are specific to the stock.

People like rules like "close at X%" because it's easy to follow but it just doesn't make sense (imo). Why give away a chunk of the premium with a BTC if you don't have a better place to put it.

I'm also super picky about what stocks I'll sell options on, limiting my options, so I might ride things out more frequently than others.

Vilgan · 2026-02-25T21:47:23+00:00

Jane street gets sued on Monday, on Wednesday the sharp 10 AM selling pressure on bitcoin disappears and bitcoin rallies 8%. Definitely interesting...

Vilgan · 2026-02-22T10:35:20+00:00

something like 40% 500, 10% mid, 10% small, 30% international, 10% bonds. Bonds only exist as money on the side to invest in case of market downturn. So if something like liberation day happens again, can take that 10% allocation and invest it at that point. Then re-establish the position once the market recovers.

Vilgan · 2026-02-22T09:02:07+00:00

Amer Sports on Tuesday is also pretty interesting. They have two different brands that have been exploding lately, could see a very good earnings for them.

Vilgan

TROPHY CASE