Starting on 2/2, I started buying XLE, an ETF of energy companies, selling covered calls at the 0.1 delta against $41,358 in long stock purchases, and reinvesting the proceeds from the calls. Since then, I earned the following:
4.46% options gains
11.73% unrealized capital gains
1.18% dividend
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17.37% total return ($7182.42) in <2.5 months, in a tax-deferred account
and 25 more shares than I started with...
I did this without paying any commission, doing any property inspections, setting up an LLC, planning a depreciation schedule, shopping for insurance, selecting and hiring contractors, painting, driving, researching rents or repair costs, dealing with tenants, hiring a manager, doing legal research, setting up a PO Box, setting up a checking account, or doing anything other than clicking buttons on a screen while sitting in a chair earning money another way. The investment I got into could be exited within seconds at the click of a button, and have limited downside.
Things like this that make it hard for me to invest the same money in a down payment and closing costs on a duplex / job, particularly in a high-priced RE market where mortgage rates could rise a lot.