Which, to be fair, makes me a bit worried. New highs feel great, but history has a habit of reminding us that big rallies can eventually be followed by some pretty painful downturns. Anyhow, as of August 7, 2026, the stock portfolio closed at $13,473, which is a strong up by 4.93% week over week.

The biggest push has come from NVDA, which has rallied from the low $190s to around $223 in just a few days, ahead of its earnings later in August.

At one point, I was seriously considering stopping the NVDA credit-spread strategy and looking for opportunities elsewhere. But then again - why break what’s working?

Our previous, somewhat troubled credit spread eventually expired worthless, allowing us to keep the full premium. So we went back in and opened another one.

NVDA keeps testing both the strategy and my nerves — but so far, the numbers keep making the case for staying with it.

The portfolio is now up 29.54% year to date, comfortably ahead of both the S&P 500 (+13.1%) and NVDA (+18.70%).

Current Options Positions

• NVDA AUG 14, 2026 207.5/197.5 Bull Put Credit Spread

• LHA FRA Sep 18, 2026 7.6 Cash-Secured Put (EUR)

• ARCC Sep 18, 2026 16 Cash-Secured Put

• HEL STERV SEP 18, 2026 8.5 Cash-Secured Put (EUR)

• NFLX Sep 18, 2026 80/85 Bear Call Spread

• BMY OCT 16, 2026 57.5/52.5 Bull Put Credit Spread

• NVDA Jun 17, 2027 $125 Covered Call

• NFLX Dec 17, 2027 64 Cash-Secured Put

With our open positions having grown quite large, I’ve decided not to add any new trades until September 18 expiry. The only exception will be our weekly NVDA credit spreads.

For now, the priority is managing the positions we already have rather than adding more exposure.

Total options premium collected this week reached $29. That’s certainly one of our smallest options income figures, but given the current positioning, I don’t expect it to increase much over the next several weeks.

Most of the premium income was reinvested directly into the portfolio through the purchase of 0.1 share of NVDA and 0.1 share of NFLX

The current margin balance has increased slightly to −$2,587. This week’s options premium was relatively small and was used to purchase fractional shares, while roughly $10 was also paid in monthly interest to service the margin debt.

At the current weekly premium of around $29, it would take roughly 89 weeks to eliminate the margin debt — and that assumes none of the premium is reinvested into shares.

So after the September expiry, I’ll need to rethink the approach and find a faster way to reduce the debt. Over the next few weeks, I doubt the weekly options premium will even reach $40, which means the actual repayment period is likely to be longer.

Looking ahead to next week, the main focus will remain the NVDA $207.5/$197.5 bull put spread.

Should the position come under renewed pressure, the plan is to roll it forward—ideally for a net credit—while keeping the risk controlled. Assignment remains a possible outcome, and if it happens, the next chapter of the strategy may involve covered-call writing on NVDA.

Now this one really feels special: for the first time, the portfolio has crossed $13,000.

It took exactly 70 weeks to get here, and, somewhat fittingly, the milestone happened while I was visiting Riga during my 41st birthday.

Definitely one of those portfolio milestones worth remembering.

Despite the slight weekly decline, the longer-term picture remains encouraging. The portfolio is now up 24.46% year to date, comfortably ahead of both the S&P 500 (+8.89%) and NVDA (+4.72%).

The main source of excitement—and stress—was once again NVDA. The stock quickly fell below $200, putting pressure on our credit spread and forcing me to act. Rather than waiting and hoping for the best, I rolled the position forward and down to lower strikes.

At one point, it looked increasingly possible that I might need to prepare for assignment and eventually switch to covered-call writing on NVDA. That would not necessarily be a disaster, but it would certainly change the structure and risk profile of the portfolio.

NVDA recovered slightly by the end of the week, but I do not think the danger has passed. In the longer term, I would not rule out a decline toward $170 or even $160. Since the portfolio uses leverage, a move of that size would increase tail risk and give me something more substantial to worry about than deciding which stock to buy with the next $10 of premium.

From a technical perspective, I would not rule out NVDA testing the $165 level at some point. The risk would become more serious if the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average. Such a bearish crossover currently appears plausible, particularly as NVDA approaches its earnings report at the end of August.

NVDA remains the portfolio’s most important position to watch. It has been one of the strongest companies in the market, but even strong companies can experience painful corrections—especially when expectations are high enough to require perfection.

Away from NVDA, I made a small purchase of McDonald’s shares at the beginning of the week. Following its earnings report, I also opened a new credit spread on Bristol Myers Squibb. In addition, I purchased fractional shares of NFLX and NVDA.

I also enabled automatic dividend reinvestment for the dividend portion of the portfolio. From now on, dividend income will automatically be used to purchase additional shares.

Since I already manage the portfolio actively, this is not a dramatic strategic change. Still, it introduces another quiet compounding mechanism. Dividends from BMY, NVDA, and the other holdings can now gradually accumulate more shares without requiring any manual action. It is not exciting, but neither is brushing your teeth—and both tend to work better when done consistently.

Current Options Positions

• NVDA AUG 7, 2026 190/170 Bull Put Credit Spread

• LHA FRA Sep 18, 2026 7.6 Cash-Secured Put (EUR)

• ARCC Sep 18, 2026 16 Cash-Secured Put

• HEL STERV SEP 18, 2026 8.5 Cash-Secured Put (EUR)

• NFLX Sep 18, 2026 80/85 Bear Call Spread

• BMY OCT 16, 2026 57.5/52.5 Bull Put Credit Spread

• NVDA Jun 17, 2027 $125 Covered Call

• NFLX Dec 17, 2027 64 Cash-Secured Put

The new BMY position deserves some additional explanation. At the beginning of the week, I had no intention of opening another trade while the NVDA spreads were still demanding attention. Adding risk while another position is under pressure is rarely ideal.

In the end, however, I decided that the BMY trade represented a calculated and manageable risk. BMY is a strong dividend-paying company and acts as one of the anchor holdings in the dividend section of the portfolio.

I also try to reinvest options premium into BMY shares, especially when opening trades linked to the company. This creates a simple cycle: collect premium, build the underlying position, and allow dividends to purchase even more shares over time.

I would normally open two credit spreads, but this week I limited the BMY position to just one. With NVDA already creating enough entertainment, there was no need to invite a second circus into the portfolio.

For now, I do not expect to open any additional August positions. I would prefer to wait for most of the September trades to expire before adding more long-dated exposure. During August, NVDA will likely remain the only position requiring active management.

Total options premium collected this week reached $102.62. Considering the current size of the portfolio and the level of risk being taken, this was a respectable result.

Part of that premium income was reinvested directly into the portfolio through the purchase of 0.1 share of NVDA, 0.1 share of NFLX, 0.25 shares of BMY, and 0.1 share of MCD.

These are small purchases, but the objective is not to impress anyone with a single transaction. The goal is to build positions steadily through a combination of options income, dividends, and disciplined accumulation.

The current margin balance has decreased to −$2,574. At the present repayment pace, it would theoretically take around 25 weeks to eliminate the debt completely.

That estimate is probably optimistic. Over the next few weeks, I doubt weekly options premium will even reach $40, so the actual repayment period is likely to be longer. Still, the direction is more important than the exact timeline: the margin balance is gradually moving lower.

Looking ahead to next week, the main focus will remain the NVDA $190/$170 bull put spread.

Should the position come under renewed pressure, the plan is to roll it forward—ideally for a net credit—while keeping the risk controlled. Assignment remains a possible outcome, and if it happens, the next chapter of the strategy may involve covered-call writing on NVDA.

That is the nature of this portfolio journey. Some weeks are about collecting premium, some are about buying shares, and others are simply about surviving long enough to trade another week.

The portfolio’s growth was significantly supported by the recovery in Netflix (NFLX), which finally closed above $70 after trading below that level for some time.

In recent weeks, portfolio performance had been weighed down primarily by the underperforming NFLX put …

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The loss came after Netflix’s earnings report, which sent NFLX shares down roughly 10% at one point. Although we hold only a small position in the stock itself, our longer-dated NFLX put option created a meaningful drag on the overall portfolio.

Had NFLX remained fl…

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This week, I opened several new positions, despite saying over the past few weeks that I would probably avoid doing so.

I reintroduced Bank of America stock to both the stock and options sides of the portfolio. Today, I also opened a new cash-secured put position in the Finnish forestry company Stora Enso.

You can read more about my reasoning behind both positions here:

• Why I Bought Bank of America Stock After Selling a Cash-Secured Put

• From Clearing Bushes to Selling Stora Enso Put Options: An 11.65% Annualized Trade

On a year-to-date basis, the portfolio is up 25.79%, outperforming both the S&P 500 (+10.37%) and NVIDIA (+11.24%).

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The U.S. stock market week was shortened, with markets closed on July 3 in observance of the July 4th Independence Day holiday.

But for us, the real highlight of the week was not the market. After 16 years and 3 months since I met my better half, we finally got married tod…

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Greetings from Latvia! This week, we skipped the last few days of school in Tbilisi and traveled to Latvia to celebrate the Midsummer Solstice. We spent time with family and friends, enjoyed the traditional festivities, had a few beers, a…

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As of June 19, 2026, the portfolio value increased by +0.76% compared to the previous week, reaching $12,761.

On a year-to-date basis, the portfolio is up 23.77%, outperforming both the S&P 500 (+9.36%) and NVIDIA (+11.56%). While comparing the portfolio to…

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Over the past week, I traveled to Dublin, Ireland, where I combined family time, sightseeing, and a bit of investing research.

While exploring downtown Dublin with my daughter, I made a few spontaneous additions to our long-term stock portfolio after visits to familiar businesses such as McDonald’s and Papa John’s. These purchases w…

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On June 6, 2026, the portfolio value declined by -2.5% compared to the previous week, reaching $12,540.

The decline was not entirely driven by stock performance. Currency movement played a role as well. The U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro, with EUR/USD…

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On a year-to-date basis, the portfolio is now up 22.67%, outperforming both the S&P 500 (+10.39%) and NVDA (+14.77%).

The portfolio was affected by NVDA’s post-earnings price fluctuations. At one point, NVDA dipped below $210, and I decided to…

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On a year-to-date basis, the portfolio is now up 22.48%, outperforming both the S&P 500 (+9.26%) and NVDA (+15.39%).

NVDA Earnings Reaction and Portfolio Impact

What a week. NVDA released earnings, and the stock price cooled off a bit…

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On a year-to-date basis, the portfolio is now up 18.95%, outperforming the S&P 500 (+8.18%), though still slightly trailing NVDA itself, which gained +20.38% over the same period.

This week was largely driven by a massive rally in NVDA stock…

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NVDA stock surged above $215, and our previous week’s credit spreads expired worthless. I opened a new position for next week’s expiry. After such steep upward moves, I’m always cautious about placing fresh trades, since the probabili…

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This week was one of the rare times I didn’t mind seeing NVDA drop—from $210 to below $200. As a put seller, sharp rallies are actually uncomfortable: premiums compress, entries get worse, and the risk of a sudden pullback increases. That’s ex…

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NVDA has jumped well above 200, making our options trades more challenging. As a put seller a…

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This week I was abroad, visiting Berlin, and paid very little attention to the stock market. I did notice NVDA jumped to around $200 - which is great, but also makes things more challenging, as selling pu…

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As of April 10, 2026…

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The week was shortened ahead of Easter, and market sentiment was notably influenced by developments related to the Iran conflict, which has been driving volatility through energy shocks and broader macro uncertainty. Also, as the portfolio is denomina…

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The dip is largely explained by EUR/USD exchange rate movements rather than any weakness in the underlying positions. The U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro, trading around 1.15. Since our base currency is EUR, this directly impacts ho…

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