How I LOST $417 in April 2024 trading options
First losing month in a while (since Sept 2023).
Loss was also a bit bigger than it should've been because I hesitated to cut my losses when I should've.
Always harder to take a loss than you think it would be. My mind is weak.
Market has been super choppy recently, so not too many closed trades.
April 2024 Closed Trades #
Ticker | Action | Type | Trade Date | Expiry | Sell Strike | Buy Strike | Premium | Qty | Fees | Total | Net Profit/Loss | Days | Annual Return |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TMUS | open | BPS | 2024-03-21 | 2024-05-17 | 155 | 150 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.11 | 138.89 | $67.49 | 33 | 74.65% |
TMUS | close | BPS | 2024-04-23 | 2024-05-17 | 150 | 155 | -0.35 | 2 | 1.4 | -71.4 | |||
SPY | open | BPS | 2024-03-26 | 2024-04-05 | 511 | 502 | 0.59 | 2 | 2.79 | 115.21 | $115.21 | 10 | 233.62% |
SPY | expired | BPS | 2024-04-05 | 2024-04-05 | 502 | 511 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
AMD | open | BPS | 2024-03-27 | 2024-05-17 | 160 | 155 | 1.29 | 2 | 1.48 | 256.52 | -$378.96 | 23 | -601.39% |
AMD | close | BPS | 2024-04-19 | 2024-05-17 | 155 | 160 | -3.17 | 2 | 1.48 | -635.48 | |||
PG | open | BPS | 2024-03-27 | 2024-06-21 | 150 | 140 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.48 | 118.52 | $47.13 | 26 | 33.08% |
PG | close | BPS | 2024-04-22 | 2024-06-21 | 140 | 150 | -0.35 | 2 | 1.39 | -71.39 | |||
SPY | open | BPS | 2024-04-02 | 2024-04-12 | 510 | 500 | 1.03 | 2 | 2.8 | 203.2 | $56.40 | 1 | 1029.30% |
SPY | close | BPS | 2024-04-03 | 2024-04-12 | 500 | 510 | -0.72 | 2 | 2.8 | -146.8 | |||
SPY | open | BPS | 2024-04-03 | 2024-04-12 | 509 | 499 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.8 | 117.2 | $117.20 | 9 | 237.66% |
SPY | expired | BPS | 2024-04-12 | 2024-04-12 | 499 | 509 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
BIDU | open | BCS | 2024-04-05 | 2024-05-17 | 120 | 125 | 0.85 | 2 | 1.11 | 168.89 | $83.59 | 3 | 1017.01% |
BIDU | close | BCS | 2024-04-08 | 2024-05-17 | 125 | 120 | -0.42 | 2 | 1.3 | -85.3 | |||
HD | open | BPS | 2024-04-09 | 2024-05-17 | 345 | 335 | 1.69 | 1 | 1.4 | 167.6 | -$373.81 | 7 | -1949.15% |
HD | close | BPS | 2024-04-16 | 2024-05-17 | 335 | 345 | -5.4 | 1 | 1.41 | -541.41 | |||
SPY | open | BPS | 2024-04-09 | 2024-04-19 | 501 | 491 | 0.76 | 1 | 2.1 | 73.9 | -$218.50 | 10 | -797.52% |
SPY | close | BPS | 2024-04-19 | 2024-04-19 | 491 | 501 | -2.91 | 1 | 1.4 | -292.4 | |||
SPY | open | BPS | 2024-04-16 | 2024-04-26 | 485 | 475 | 0.7 | 1 | 3.08 | 66.92 | $66.92 | 10 | 244.26% |
SPY | expired | BPS | 2024-04-26 | 2024-04-26 | 475 | 485 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
TOTAL | -$417.33 | ||||||||||||
Win % | 63.64% | ||||||||||||
Avg. Win/Loss | -$41.73 | ||||||||||||
Number of trades | 10 |
Notes and Thoughts #
If I had cut my losses when I should've, I probably would've been close to breakeven on the month. Still would've lost a little bit (maybe $100-$200).
Or, if I decide to increase my risk tolerance a bit, I probably could've held on to the losers (i.e. AMD
), and got back to breakeven when the market bounced again. It's always easy to look back and see what you should've done when it has already happened.
Bear markets #
It seems I'm still not able to make money when the market drops, or goes bearish.
One problem this time was that I had too many bullish positions open to begin with. When everything starts dropping, I get caught with my pants down.
So, maybe I need to start taking a few more bearish positions even if the market is trending up just to balance out the odds a bit. Then, just eat the losses quickly? Easier said than done I guess.
Something to think about.