Recap: Trade log for the week of July 20
Growth led the downside in another risk-off week. From Friday to Friday, the S&P 500 fell from 7,458 to 7,412, down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq dropped from 25,520 to 24,976, down 2.1%. Russell slipped 1.1%, VIX eased from 18.77 to 18.58, and crude climbed from $82.49 to $89.31, up 8.3%.
Monday I sold the XOM 7/24 $143 cash-secured put, plus covered calls on DG at $135 and WMT at $117. All three expired worthless Friday for $114.15 net after fees. Wednesday I bought back the GOOG 7/24 $345 put at $9.06 and sold the 7/31 $342.50 put at $9.82, moving the strike down $2.50 and the expiration out one week. The $0.76 roll credit was $76 gross, and after $2.12 in fees it left a $73.88 net credit. That brings the running net credit on the July GOOG chain from $638.79 to $712.67. Including the other three trades, this week brought in $188.03 in net options premium.
XOM was the standout from Sunday night’s board. The 7/24 $143 put had a 63.7 Setup Score and 42 Contract Score, with an Acceptable MIQ read despite a thin cushion and wide spread. XOM opened Monday at $146.50 and closed Friday at $156.94, up 7.1%, leaving the strike comfortably out of the money. DG also paid its $0.59 dividend, adding another $59 and bringing total weekly income to $247.03. Peak deployed capital was $73,971 on Monday and Tuesday: $34,500 for the GOOG carryover, $14,300 for XOM, $13,500 in DG covered-call shares, and $11,671 in WMT covered-call shares. Total weekly income divided by that peak book produced a 0.33% weekly ROC.
The portfolio is at $10,031.17 net P/L year to date, up 12.45%, versus SPY at 8.36%. That is a comfortable 4.09 percentage-point lead, with our 1.08 Sharpe and 1.65 Sortino also ahead of the benchmark. Realized income stands at $10,874.20 and max drawdown remains -9.92%. GOOG is the position under pressure now, but the 7/31 expiration gives us a full trading week to play defense. One path is to roll roughly a month out for a small net credit if the pricing is there. There is no need to rush the decision or add unrelated risk during a heavy earnings week.
Portfolio snapshot as of July 25, 2026 - click to enlarge
XOM was the most actionable name on Sunday night’s board, then moved decisively away from the posted strike after Monday’s open.
| Ticker | Contract | Setup Score | Contract Score | mIQ | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | 7/24 $143 PUT | 63.7 | 42 | Acceptable | $146.50 → $156.94 (+7.1%) |
The spread required patience at entry, but the underlying move took pressure off the contract quickly and the put expired worthless.
$188.03 net options premium + $59 DG dividend = $247.03 total weekly income.
| Type | OpnOpen | Exp | ClsClose | TicTicker | StkStrike | Qty | Fill | ExtExit | Fee | Cap | P/L$ | ROC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC | 7/20 | 7/24 | 7/24 | WMT | 117 | 1 | 0.35 | 0.00 | 0.77 | 11.7k | 34.23 | 0.29% |
| CC | 7/20 | 7/24 | 7/24 | DG | 135 | 1 | 0.23 | 0.00 | 1.04 | 13.5k | 21.96 | 0.16% |
| CSP | 7/20 | 7/24 | 7/24 | XOM | 143 | 1 | 0.59 | 0.00 | 1.04 | 14.3k | 57.96 | 0.41% |
| CSP | 7/22 | 7/31 | GOOG | 342.5 | 1 | 9.82 | 9.06 | 2.12 | 34.3k | 73.88 | 0.22% |
📥 Download Full YTD Trade Log (CSV)
Open positions from previous weeks that are counted towards deployed capital. These positions did not generate premiums this week.
Closed positions from previous weeks that are counted towards deployed capital. These positions did not generate premiums this week and may have reduced premiums earned from previous weeks.
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