October 2020 update

It is time for another monthly update. This month my savings decreased slightly to $3,450. This is to be expected as I continue to pay down debt. It was another rough month for the stock market in which my retirement savings dropped to $93,500. October was also not a great month for dividends. I received about $193 in dividends this month which brings to the total for the year so far to $1,294. For the most part, I have the DRIP (Dividend ReInvestment Plan) turned on for my dividend stocks. Option premiums collected this month totaled $330. The total option premium received this year is $1,212. At this point I am selling covered calls and cash secured puts. I still have a lot to learn about option trading but for now I happy with using what I feel is a fairly conservative approach to increase my income. I am taking the income from my option trading and reinvesting it into my IRA. My top 3 positions this month are Realty Income Corp., Microsoft and Verizon. Realty Income Corp. became my largest position due to a cash secured put that reached its strike price and 100 shares were assigned to me. My net worth took a step backwards to -$2,600 due to the drop in my retirement savings. Overall I am pleased with my progress on spending less, earning more, paying down debt, investing and staying invested.