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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.