August 19, 2026
Monthly UpdateAugust 2026: Rolling Up the Wheel — A Month of Tactical Rolls and $34,000 in Premium
Three tactical rolls on SCHD, VTI called away, and a masterclass in active premium harvesting.
August was the most active month the wheel has seen all year. Instead of letting the SCHD puts sit untouched into expiration, I rolled the strike up three separate times as the price climbed — locking in profit on each leg while keeping the position open and collecting fresh premium every time. Add a clean VTI call-away and a new round of September puts, and the month closed out with roughly $49,560 in income.
The Numbers
August 8 — SCHD Roll #1
SCHD had climbed well past my $32.50 strike, so instead of waiting for expiration I bought the puts back early and rolled the strike up.
Closing 485 contracts at $0.05 cost $2,425 and locked in $2,425 of profit on that leg. I turned right around and opened a new position at a higher strike.
470 contracts at $33.50 for $11,750. Net cash added on the roll: $9,325. Collateral now sits at $1,574,500 — 470 contracts × $33.50 — perfectly matched to what would be needed if I'm assigned.
August 14 — SCHD Roll #2
SCHD kept climbing, so six days later I rolled again.
Closing 470 contracts at $0.05 cost $2,350, locking in $9,400 of profit on that leg alone — this one had run almost to its full premium. New position, higher strike again:
456 contracts at $34.50 for $11,400. Net cash added: $9,050. Collateral: $1,573,200 — slightly less than the prior roll, which freed up an extra $1,300 of buying power. Across the two rolls so far, SCHD had produced $23,225 in premium.
August 19 — SCHD Roll #3, September Puts, and VTI Called Away
Today did triple duty: I closed out the SCHD puts one more time, opened the September position, and watched VTI get called away on the same expiration cycle.
Closing 456 contracts at $0.05 cost $2,280 and locked in $9,120 on the final leg. Across all three legs, SCHD's realized option profit for August came to $20,945 — 81.4% of the maximum premium available across the whole rolling campaign. That freed up roughly $1,623,708.84, fully liquid in VMFXX, if only for a few hours before I put it back to work.
449 contracts at $35.00, expiring September 18, for $13,470 in fresh premium. Collateral: $1,571,500.
Same day, VTI's covered calls — sold back in July at a $370 strike — came due.
VTI closed above the $370 strike, so all 1,100 shares were called away. Between the $5,060 in put premium collected back when the shares were assigned and the $6,446 in call premium collected when I wrote calls against them, the full VTI cycle came to $11,506 in combined premium. $407,000 in cash proceeds landed back in VMFXX.
August 24 — New VTI Puts Sold
Five days later, I put the VTI cash back to work.
11 contracts at $375 strike for $4.00/share in premium — $4,400 collected. If assigned, my net cost basis would be $371.00/share.
Rolling isn't just for defense. Every SCHD roll this month happened because the position was already deep in my favor, not because I was in trouble. Buying back for a nickel and re-selling at a higher strike converts a position that's "done its job early" into fresh premium instead of letting it sit idle until expiration.
August Income Summary
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| SCHD realized option profit (3 legs closed) | $20,945.00 |
| SCHD September puts opened (Leg 4) | $13,470.00 |
| VTI covered call premium (collected July, realized Aug 21) | $6,446.00 |
| VTI September puts opened (Aug 24) | $4,400.00 |
| VMFXX interest | $4,298.90 |
| Total August Income | ~$49,559.90 |
Portfolio State (End of August)
Year-to-Date Summary
| Month | Options | Dividends | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $31,930 | $2,286 | $34,216 |
| February | $12,197 | $0 | $12,197 |
| March | $3,525 | $16,663 | $20,188 |
| April | $7,600 | $0 | $7,600 |
| May | $6,600 | $0 | $6,600 |
| June | $10,130 | $12,246 | $22,376 |
| July | $11,296 | $4,410 | $15,706 |
| August | $45,261 | $4,299 | $49,560 |
| YTD Total | $128,539 | $39,904 | ~$168,443 |
Just under $168,443 through eight months — comfortably ahead of pace for the $205K gross / $160K net annual target, with August alone contributing nearly a third of the year's total.
Looking Ahead: September
September's projected cash flow is shaping up at roughly $22,190:
- SCHD puts (449 contracts @ $35.00): $13,470.00 already in hand
- VTI puts (11 contracts @ $375.00): $4,400.00 already in hand
- VMFXX interest: ~$4,320
Lessons This Month
1. Rolling up captures gains without giving up the position. Three legs, three profitable closes, three fresh positions — each roll banked realized profit while keeping collateral fully deployed instead of sitting idle waiting for a single expiration date.
2. A nickel to close is nearly always worth it. Every SCHD close this month happened at $0.05 — buying back the last sliver of extrinsic value to free up the strike for a higher one is cheap insurance against a reversal, and it converts "waiting for Friday" into "redeploying today."
3. Don't let called-away cash sit longer than it has to. The $407,000 from the VTI call-away went back to work within three trading days. Every day it sits in cash instead of collateral is a day of premium not collected.
The wheel keeps spinning — just faster this month.
— Russell