$175 profit in SJM & CLX
- themoneyloaf
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 9
Happy August!
Wrapping up July with a couple of trades, including one in SJM which has the dubious honor of being the quickest trade to be in-the-money.
This week:
$85 profit in JM Smucker (SJM)
$90 profit in Clorox (CLX)
$85 profit in SJM
In June, SJM took a dip and provided an opportunity to initiate a new position. I sold the $100 cash-secured put expiring Jul 18 for $155 in premium upfront.
This trade has the dubious honor of being the quickest trade to go in-the-money (aka in trouble), and SJM dropped to $155 within a couple of hours of placing the trade.
That in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, as people in my private community could make adjustments, either by moving the strike further away (ie selling the $90 or $95 put), or selling the $100 put for a lot more premium (and indeed someone entered the trade for $270 premium)
Despite the terrible start to the trade, SJM did rebound towards the end of the trade and I eventually paid $70 to close the trade, which means a realized profit of $85 or 55% of max profit.
Something I continually emphasize in my course is that my system doesn't rely on me being "right" on timing or direction.
A trade can go completely wrong immediately like it did here, and still turn a profit in the end.
It's also important to note that even if it didn't rally in July, I would have rolled the position out to the next month and just waited for the eventual recovery.
Again it doesn't necessarily rely on any "skill" on my part, but letting the market moves play out at its own time.
If you'd like to read about more trades from my real portfolio and see how I get out of difficult positions, consider being part of my private community where I share these updates (not recommendations!).
$90 profit in CLX
This trade in CLX is probably the most "bread and butter" type of trade that gets placed in this portfolio.
The first step is of course to be patient and wait for a nice setup to deploy some capital. This came in early June when CLX had a bit of a dip.
I then sold the $120 cash-secured put expiring Jul 18 for $125 in premium upfront.
Then it's just a waiting game to see how the market is moving and deciding what a realistic profit target looks like.
My usual target is about 50% of max profit, but as volatility began to subside in July, I felt comfortable letting some positions run for more profit.
I set a GTC (good till cancelled) order to buy back the position for $35 and left it to work in the background.
Fast forward to just before the expiration in July, the order was filled and I realized a profit of $90 on this trade, or 72% of max profit.
It's not exciting, it doesn't require a lot of monitoring, but it makes money and works.
CLX has been a decent performer in 2025, with 4 wins from 4 trades and a total realized profit of $902 so far.
You can read more about previous CLX trades at the link below.
Closing thoughts & useful links
Friday saw some volatility creep back in with tariffs coming back into play. I have no idea whether this will be short-lived or if it's just the beginning of a new downward move. We'll have to wait and see.
Have a good weekend!
Free mini course: Kickstart your personal finances in 5 weeks
Latest Youtube video: comparing my 8 income streams in 2023 vs 2022
Improve your financial life with my budget and wealth tracker that helps to allocate your budget, calculate savings rate, track your sinking funds, net worth and progresses towards FIRE with minimal input from you - most of it is automated.
Sign up for real time updates (not recommendations) within my portfolio with the Bread Crumb subscription
This article is for educational purposes only. This is my own portfolio which is being managed according to my goals and risk tolerance. Your situation is likely different and you should do your own due diligence before investing in stocks or options.
Comments