If a stock trades at $100 and you want to buy it at $95, you have two choices. Place a limit order and wait (and get nothing if it never touches). Or sell a cash-secured put at the $95 strike — if the stock drops to $95 you own it at that price and you also kept the premium. If it does not drop, the premium is yours anyway. This is the single most practical use of options for long-term investors.
The Trade in One Paragraph
You pick a stock you actually want to own. You pick a strike below today's price — your target entry. You sell one put contract per 100 shares you are willing to buy. You keep the cash secured (strike × 100) in your account so you can honour the purchase if assigned. That is the whole trade.
Own itMust actually want the stock
This is not a premium-harvesting game. Only sell puts on names you have already decided to own at the strike price. If assignment feels like a loss, you picked the wrong strike or the wrong name.
Below marketStrike = your entry target
The strike is your "I'd buy here" price. Below current price. Sometimes well below — if you are patient, pick a strike that represents a meaningful drawdown from today.
CashCash must actually be there
Strike × 100 per contract, sitting in the account. If you would rather not hold that cash reserved, you don't want this trade — you want a naked put, which is a different animal.
The Monthly Flow
1
Pick a dividend / quality name you already own or want to own. Note the price you would comfortably buy more at. That is your strike target.
2
Check IV percentile — the higher, the richer the put premium. IVP > 50% is a reasonable minimum; below that, limit orders may serve you just as well.
3
Sell a 30-45 DTE put at your chosen strike. Collect premium. Keep strike × 100 in cash.
4
At expiry: stock above strike = put expires worthless, you keep premium and repeat. Stock below strike = you get assigned at your strike price, minus the premium you already collected. Either way, your effective cost is strike − premium.
The phrase that matters: "get paid to wait." Limit orders make you wait for free. Cash-secured puts pay you a monthly premium to wait. Same economic intent, different payout structure.
What the App Helps With
The watchlist lets you mark a Floor price per ticker — your target entry. The volatility page flags when IVP is high enough to make the put premium worth selling. The risk dashboard shows your aggregate put exposure so you can see total cash at risk across all open puts.
Sell puts at your target entry price
Only on names you want to own · only when IVP > 50% · keep the cash
Effective cost = strike − premium · you get paid to wait
Set entry targets on your Watchlist →