October was my second full month without a salary, and my options income went down, not up. I collected USD 3,750 in new premium and booked USD 2,243.52 in realised options income after fees. In September those numbers were USD 7,336 and USD 3,110.30. Here is what happened, trade by trade, and what the numbers actually mean.
Why I track options income every month
I left my full-time job in September 2026, and my long-term goal is USD 10,000 a month in investment income. Selling cash-secured puts and covered calls is one part of that plan, alongside index ETFs, individual stocks, dividends and option income ETFs. Writing these numbers down each month keeps me honest. It is easy to remember the good trades and forget the ones that cost money.
Premium collected vs realised income: two different numbers
Before the numbers, one distinction that matters a lot:
- Gross premium is the cash I received when I sold an option to open a position in October. Some of those positions are still open, so part of that money could still be given back if I buy the option back at a higher price.
- Realised options income is what I actually kept on positions that were closed in October, whether by buying back, expiring or being assigned, after fees and after the cost of any buyback. Some of these positions were opened in August or September.
So the two numbers measure different trades. Realised income is the measure of what I earned. Gross premium shows how much new risk I took on.
My October 2026 options income at a glance
| Measure | September 2026 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross premium collected | USD 7,336.00 | USD 3,750.00 | -USD 3,586.00 |
| Realised options income (after fees) | USD 3,110.30 | USD 2,243.52 | -USD 866.78 |
| Options sold to open | 21 | 11 | -10 |
| Positions closed | 22 | 13 | -9 |
| Assignments | 5 | 2 | -3 |
Year to date, my realised options income for 2026 comes to USD 16,665.24, from USD 25,268 of gross premium.
What I sold in October: puts vs calls
I opened 11 short option positions across nine tickers: ASTS, NVDA, PEP, PLTR, RDDT, SPCX, TE, TEM and VST. Here is how they split between puts and calls:
| Type | Contracts opened | Premium collected | Share of premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash-secured puts | 7 trades (17 contracts) | USD 2,508.00 | 67% |
| Covered calls | 4 trades (5 contracts) | USD 1,242.00 | 33% |
| Total | 11 trades | USD 3,750.00 | 100% |
The single largest sale was a long-dated NVDA put (strike USD 180, expiring September 2027) for USD 921. The rest were mostly shorter-dated: puts on PEP, TE, TEM, SPCX and PLTR, and calls on ASTS, VST, PEP and RDDT.
| Date | Ticker | Type | Strike | Expiry | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct | PEP | Put | USD 130 | 9 Oct 2026 | USD 434 |
| 1 Oct | TE | Put (10 contracts) | USD 4 | 16 Oct 2026 | USD 449 |
| 5 Oct | NVDA | Put | USD 180 | 17 Sep 2027 | USD 921 |
| 7 Oct | TEM | Put (2 contracts) | USD 60 | 30 Oct 2026 | USD 264 |
| 8 Oct | SPCX | Put | USD 125 | 20 Nov 2026 | USD 118 |
| 12 Oct | ASTS | Call (2 contracts) | USD 70 | 20 Nov 2026 | USD 362 |
| 12 Oct | VST | Call | USD 185 | 20 Nov 2026 | USD 350 |
| 12 Oct | PEP | Call | USD 130 | 27 Nov 2026 | USD 220 |
| 13 Oct | SPCX | Put | USD 125 | 20 Nov 2026 | USD 127 |
| 13 Oct | PLTR | Put | USD 165 | 20 Nov 2026 | USD 195 |
| 29 Oct | RDDT | Call | USD 145 | 30 Oct 2026 | USD 310 |
What I closed in October, and what it earned
Thirteen positions were closed during the month. Ten made money and three lost money:
| Date | Position | How it closed | Realised (after fees) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct | PEP put USD 130 | Bought back | -USD 206.88 |
| 1 Oct | ASTS call USD 75 | Bought back | USD 162.98 |
| 1 Oct | TE put USD 4 | Bought back (rolled) | -USD 242.80 |
| 2 Oct | SPCX put USD 110 | Bought back | USD 273.00 |
| 8 Oct | PLTR put USD 120 | Bought back | USD 554.98 |
| 9 Oct | PEP put USD 130 | Assigned | USD 433.24 |
| 13 Oct | ASTS call USD 70 | Bought back | USD 220.53 |
| 14 Oct | TEM put USD 60 | Bought back | USD 62.50 |
| 14 Oct | TE put USD 4 | Assigned | USD 445.91 |
| 15 Oct | PEP call USD 130 | Bought back | -USD 273.26 |
| 15 Oct | VST call USD 185 | Bought back | USD 233.47 |
| 27 Oct | RDDT call USD 180 | Bought back | USD 270.73 |
| 30 Oct | RDDT call USD 145 | Expired worthless | USD 309.14 |
| Total | USD 2,243.52 |
The three losses add up to USD 722.94. On 1 October I bought back a PEP put to close it, at a loss of USD 206.88. On the same day I rolled a TE put: I closed the one that was close to expiry and sold a new one with a later date. On a roll like that, the buyback shows as a loss on its own, and the new sale shows up as fresh premium, so looking at only one half of the trade can be misleading. The third loss was a PEP covered call that I bought back on 15 October.
Two assignments: what it means to get the shares
Two of my puts were assigned in October:
- PEP: I bought 100 shares at USD 130 on 9 October, which needed USD 13,000 of cash.
- TE: I bought 1,000 shares at USD 4 on 14 October, which needed USD 4,000 of cash.
Together that is USD 17,000 used to buy shares. The premium I kept on those two puts (USD 879.15 in total) counts as income, but the shares themselves can still go down. If the share price ends up below my purchase price less the premium, the trade loses money overall, even though the income figure looks positive.
Why October was lower than September
The main reason is simple: I sold far fewer options. September had 21 opening sales, including several long-dated puts on AMZN, SPCX, PLTR and ASTS that brought in large premiums. October had 11, and only one of them (NVDA) was long-dated.
Realised income fell less sharply than premium, from USD 3,110.30 to USD 2,243.52. That is because a lot of October’s realised income came from closing positions I had opened in earlier months, such as the PLTR put sold in September for USD 1,284 and bought back in October for USD 727.
The risks behind these numbers
Options income looks steady in a monthly table, but it is not guaranteed. A few things I keep in mind:
- Capital tied up: each cash-secured put needs enough cash to buy 100 shares per contract at the strike price. The NVDA put alone needs USD 18,000 set aside until September 2027.
- Assignment risk: if a share falls below my put strike, I buy it at the strike, even if the market price is much lower.
- Capped upside: on covered calls, if the share price shoots up, I may have to sell my shares at the strike and miss the rest of the rise.
- Open positions: part of October’s USD 3,750 premium is still at risk, because several of those options expire in November 2026 or later.
- Opportunity cost: cash held back to secure puts is not invested elsewhere.
What you can take from this
If you are tracking your own options income, I would suggest keeping two separate numbers: premium collected and realised income after fees and buybacks. Count rolls as one combined decision rather than one loss and one win. And record every assignment with the cash it needed, because that is where the real risk sits.
For November, I already have positions on PLTR, SPCX, ASTS, VST and PEP expiring on 20 and 27 November. I will report how they turn out next month.
This post shares my own trades for education only and is not financial advice.
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