#it cost 0.46$ a day so it’s okay | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

earthlyemily · 3 years

Text

I’m struggling so much financially and honestly just wanted to vent somewhere. I’ve always lived in poverty and I think in my whole life I’ve had maybe 2 years where I didn’t have to stress about money and not be able to buy groceries or pay rent or be put into collections for not being able to make payments etc and that was when I was in college. For at least the past 5 years I’ve been struggling but I never talk about it. I don’t even know where to start haha I don’t even know what it’s like to not stress financially and be in debt. I’ll just start with the first things that come to mind with what I’m owing maybe. So it’s Dec. 23 and rent was due yesterday because we moved into this small suite attached to someone’s house on Nov. 22. It’s $1200 which is so expensive, but also the average price for BC if not even cheaper for a one-bedroom with a yard, utilities included. and no first and last, no pet deposits, etc because this is just short them for 4 months until the end of March because i reached out and asked and they said yes.

After 1 month I already remember why we went into the trailer almost 2 years ago and it’s literally because we can’t afford any other lifestyle. I think that’s the difference between us and some people that live in trailers, vans, etc. like we lived in a mouse & mouse shit infested trailer for 6 months breathing in their feces and urine and having it all over all our belongings. i literally had to take my whole life to the dump and we officially have no food storage because they ruined it all. there were at least 50-60 mice because a few birth cycles happened in the ceiling. I could write a whole post about my experience of living with field mice, but now isn’t the time so for rent, i only had $600 yesterday so that’s what I gave them. thank goodness they were okay with me asking for a few more days to make the other half. but I don’t even know when that’s going to be :(

my etsy shop veganveins has been doing so bad lately for more than one reason, most of my orders are just postcards and stickers, and while I’m grateful for them, that $1-3 profit isn’t going to keep my business going. and it’s so hard for me to work lately. the wifi doesn’t work sometimes for hours and I always get distracted by shawn and the dogs working from home in a small space. I need to get better at my time management. I got up at 8:30 today which is actually early for me so I’m proud of myself. I’m chronically ill and I really need to go get a blood test and see what’s happening because I haven’t gotten one since being diagnosed with graves disease again 1.5 years ago. anyways. i switched to a print on demand method this year for veganveins for some shirts and sweaters because i couldn’t afford to keep ordering shirts in bulk, and it’s honestly been so, so expensive and i barely make any profit. I’m currently owing my t-shirt printer $999 on one invoice (it was originally $2196 so I’ve at least paid half of it) but that was 2 weeks ago and I still need to pay it. Mario, my t-shirt printer has been with me since I started veganveins and I’m so grateful he gives me extensions on paying the invoices. every other t-shirt printer I’ve ever asked has said no. in addition to the $999 there’s going to be another $2200 invoice I’ll be receiving this week for my last order. I think because of the holidays he’s going to give me some time to pay off that too, but the problem is when I have outstanding invoices he doesn’t print new orders for me. He’s closed now until Jan. 4 so I just need to somehow make that much before then.

btw I don’t have a credit card ($8500 all used on veganveins and it got put into collections last march) and I had a fully used $5000 line of credit but I got a debt consolidation loan for $16,000 1 month ago and my payment for that is $167 a month. it fully paid off and closed my credit card and line of credit + $3000 overdraft which is nice. but now I don’t have any extra money except for what comes in. my credit is only 640 which is really bad in canada so I won’t get approved for a new credit card or loan until I build that up, which is going to be a few months of regular payments. so for regular payments, the $167 for the loan is due on Dec. 27. Yesterday the trailer loan which is literally unliveable from what the mice did until we renovate it came out for $260, that’s how much I pay once a month for it on the 22nd. I didn’t have $260 in my account so it got rejected and I got charged a $48 NSF fee. omg if anyone is reading this long i’m shook. i’m genuinely just writing this for myself to process my feelings and in case anyone was curious about my financial situation here you go haha. maybe some of you can relate, maybe some can’t. anyways. so now I somehow have to get $260 in my account for that for when they try to take it out again in the next few days.

another payment that was supposed to come out yesterday but hasn’t, but I’m sure will come out today is our truck loan. they deferred it for 8 months because of covid which was so nice, but we started paying it again 2 months ago. for both those months I called and made my payment a later date and that helped, but there’s barely any service here so when I called 4 times yesterday to try and change the date the payment comes out, I was on hold for 20-30 mins then my phone would disconnect and hang up. so that’s $586 and it will come out today, I have $0.46 in my account right now so it will get rejected and I’ll get charged another $48 NSF fee. this is why being poor always costs more and the banks are always harsher on those who don’t have money. today I’ll try calling again to see if I can ask for it to come out on a different day like january 10 instead, so I can first have time to pay rent and the trailer and also our $190 truck insurance which got rejected from my account 3 days ago, which was another $48 NSF fee. oh and something else i’m so stressed about is CIBC is going to put me into collections on December 28 if I don’t pay $1000, $700 of which is purely their fees. I have a $300 overdraft which they said i have to cover by then and the $700 is literally their $48 fees added up over the past 3 months. I got a text from them today saying my account is over and it’s because an amnesty international $11 monthly donation came out and obvi there’s no money in there, so that’s another $48 they charged. they’ve already given me a month to pay it and don’t want to wait any longer :(

I owe everyone in my family money, my sister $1650, my mom $700 and my brother also lent me $700. none of my siblings have money either and my mom definitely doesn’t so I hate that i had to borrow that much, and it’s literally been months. thankfully they’re so patient but i can’t wait to not owe them that

omg and i can’t even think about the amount of money shawn’s grandma has lent us. she’s genuinely the only reason we haven’t been completely homeless. but it’s a lot. like i don’t even want to say the number on here. she let us use it from her line of credit over the years and we’ve been slowly paying her back, but she lets us go months at a time without making a payment which i honestly hate doing, but have no choice. i’ve felt a lot of shame and guilt about this, but I also know that she genuinely would rather help us than see us suffer.

so i’m gonna talk about a big reason I’m broke this month especially - saving a pig named buster. his rescue cost me $1850 out of pocket that I didn’t have. but otherwise he was going to be killed in 2 days, he was my baby and I loved him so I had to do it. I somehow made $1350 that went towards it but I’m still owing $500, which I just asked for an extension for today until the new year. i’m not really supposed to talk about it but everything I’ve ever posted here has stayed here, so that cost was literally just from me buying the pig off the farmer. myself along with everyone else ive talked to is disgusted that he charged that much, but he wasnt budging and if that’s what it was going to take, of course I’m going to do it. I wouldn’t think twice about doing it for my dogs and Buster was smarter and more affectionate than them. i love him and I’m so happy he was saved. a non-profit organization transported him to a sanctuary and it was my biggest wish come true and the happiest moment I’ve had all year. my eyes are literally tearing up haha i love him so much. i could write a whole post about his neglect but basically he hasn’t had fresh water in weeks, he was only being fed handfuls of mixed nuts, he was constantly dirty in a muddy enclosure with an electric fence that he was always getting shocked on. he never got true love or affection except for when I gave him it. i posted an instagram story about him and asked people to message me and that i needed help, 2 people donated $111 and $120 each, and 2 other people donated $15 and $12. Someone also e-transferred me $20. These 4 donations equaled almost $300 ($277) and I was so grateful for those people wanting to help me help buster. if anyone else wants to help me with the cost of his rescue i still do need help and would appreciate it so much. this feels really weird and vulnerable for me to do and i’m sorry if anyone is annoyed by this post, I just genuinely am struggling and figured if someone does have extra and wants to help, there isn’t harm in that. but i do feel guilty for asking because i know there are so many other people struggling out there that need even more help than i do :(

i haven’t talked about it publically but i guess I will now, this farmer that I bought buster off of is the owner of the organic vegetable farm i was living and working at this past spring and summer. we worked really hard all summer to be able to stay there and park for free in the winter, but this past fall he told us no one was allowed to stay at the farm anymore, including us, so we had to find a new place to bring our 14ft trailer in to live. so that was an unexpected bummer and if we had known we wouldn’t be allowed staying there anymore (despite doing the labour of $1200 a month for free harvesting organic kale, for an off-grid spot he told us was worth $350 a month to park) we wouldn’t have driven 8 hours with the trailer and we would have stayed in the snow in northern BC and sucked it up and lived on the land we got the opportunity to rent this fall. Donna, the woman who is renting the land to us has been the biggest blessing in my life this year. I love her so much. Basically, she’s letting us live on 170 acres for $600 a month. letting us do whatever we want on the land (building a cabin, setting up rainwater catchment systems, having a solar passive greenhouse and a huge garden) LIKE WHAT. we could even open a farm sanctuary if we had money, i wanted to so bad but obviously that dream didn’t even come close to being reality. opportunities like this literally don’t exist in canada, especially not in BC. i cant even process my gratitude, i cry everytime i think about it. when we go back in the spring it’s going to be the beginning of the rest of our life :) i want to rescue so many senior dogs. everything we’ve always wanted to do we’ll be able to do, assuming we have money haha. but i want to have an organic farm and grow veggies to donate to families in need, especially since we live on stolen indiginious land and I see how the goverment actively restricts their access to fresh healthy produce. but anyways by then it was too dangerous to drive 8 hours back hauling a trailer in the snow and it was just easier to stay in the okanagan until the spring. i know the farmer probably doesn’t realize this and he’s also probably struggling financially but not being able to stay at the farm for the winter months we worked for, and buying buster for that price is a big reason I’m in the financial stress I am now so I figured i’d talk about it.

anyways. i think this is long enough and i think anyone reading this gets the point, i’m drowning in debt, my small business is almost costing me more to run and i’m not making nearly enough profit to live, the past few months ive been living off grid (not by choice) and just focused literally on surviving and not freezing and getting water etc and not having service or internet has affected me negatively. there’s internet now in the suite I’m in, it works really good in the morning and not as well at night, like for example tumblr doesn’t work past 5 pm for me to post photos. but ive been in a bad sleep schedule since i got here that i need to change. im sick and i need to heal myself. tomorrow i’ll set my alarm for 7:30. hopefully i make some money today. i got a social media managing job and it will end up being $1000 a month once i do the 3+ hours a day of work which im already feeling like i barely have time for my own basic life tasks. but i can do this.

if anyone reading this wants to help me out a bit, my paypal email is [email protected] or http://www.paypal.com/paypalme/veganveins

and my e-transfer email is [email protected] i have auto deposit so you won’t have to ask a question :)

this is my first time in 7 years i’ve made a post like this or asked for help. i won’t do it again but figured i have nothing to lose. if you read up to here i love you a lot and thank you so much for being here <3

#personal #finances #broke #poor #vegan #small business owner #graves disease #saving animals #off grid #I wonder if anyone will even read this all #debt #life update lol #p

40 notes · View notes

travelcenter-uk · 3 years

Text

Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

I was able to find a lot of answers to some prolonged questions on my last trip to Dubai in November 2019. Not just that, but I learned several wow facts that blew my mind!

Keep reading. I have a lot to tell you.

Did you know that the literal meaning of Dubai is money? And that, Dubai was mostly a small desert 50 years ago, but now it is ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world?

I would love to see that shock on your face when you read this. Because, when I first learnt this, I went crazy!

Then, I started to wonder what more about Dubai, don’t I know?

However, I was able to overcome this dubiousness! (Find the pun). It was, as I started visiting some of the best tourist attractions in the country.

1 - I visited the Dubai Frame

You may wonder why I visited the Dubai Frame first, out of all tourist attractions. Well, it was because of the hype.

My brother has been in Dubai for almost fifteen years now. And, this frame has always been a hot topic for him.

I was a little bland at first, though. Like you are right now. But can you see this giant, glistening Gold frame in the picture below?

Yeah, I couldn’t let my curiosity kill me.

What is so special about it?

The wow factor is, this giant frame has a symbolic connection between the old and new city of Dubai! It is also the most massive frame in the world.

Is the visit free of charge?

Although this frame stands there like an adornment, you cannot just visit it. You need to purchase tickets. We purchased it online (because it is easier than staying under the hot sun at the venue to buy). There were four of us as adults, so we had to pay around 11 Euros each. They did allow the kids in for free.

The fun part about the Dubai Frame?

The panoramic glass lifts, of course!

Once you are on one of these lifts, it shuttles you to the top.

I have a fear of heights, so this was even fun. I know I should say ‘terrified’, but it was fun! Because, once you are at the top, you can walk on a clear glass walkway along the entire 313-foot width of the frame.

Pictures taken from here are so Instagram worthy (mostly if you use your selfie-stick or GoPro). Oh, and it was almost sunset when we visited the frame, so the view was breath-taking! Now you know what the best time is for you to visit the Dubai Frame on your next trip to Dubai.

2 - I had Dinner in the sky!

If this is not in your ‘things to do in Dubai’ list, add it right now!

I can’t tell you that I signed up for this with no hesitations. I kept throwing tantrums for nearly ten minutes.

My brother had pre-purchased the tickets to ‘Dinner in the Sky Dubai’ online It was because they allowed only 22 pax during a single slot! Do you think saying ‘no’ after that would have been a good thing to do?

I don’t think so.

Tip: If you are planning to have Dinner in the Sky in Dubai, pre-purchase your tickets online. This way you can pick the day and time-frame of your choice! You can also contact the team at Travel Center UK to make an arrangement.

Okay, now to the best part!

Familiarizing with the premises

We were welcomed with a refreshing drink. After which, we had to deposit all our belongings (except mobiles & cameras) into a locker.

It was relieving to do so because we could enjoy the whole time without panicking. I mean, I am sure none of us wants to see our bags fly down from 50 m above the ground.

Once we made ourselves comfortable, they strapped us to bucket seats. Of course, with safety harnesses.

The fun part of this?

They used cranes to lift the slots. My nephew had a great time, screaming and enjoying the whole process.

As I love photography, I did not miss out on the breath-taking views of the glittering skyline. 50m above the ground, we were able to see the Dubai Marina, Atlantis, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa!

What about the food?

The chefs onboard were outstanding. As soon as we were in the sky, they started to make our two-course gourmet menu live! Yes, we got to see our menu prepared before our eyes.

The food was excellent, along with the peppy tunes accompanying us as we had our delightful feast.

For nearly 90 minutes, we enjoyed our meals with 360 degrees view of the splendid city!

3 - I Realized why Dubai is a Birder's Paradise

Thanks to my little nephew, who kept crying to visit the wildlife sanctuary. I learned that there are over 320 bird species that migrate between Europe, Asia, and Africa via Dubai!

It was not some random fact thrown in the wildlife sanctuaries. It was a wow fact I heard from the guard at one of the sanctuaries there.

Another double-wow fact about the birder’s paradise is, the rare birds passing through the city. These rarities include; spotted eagles, broad-billed sandpipers, and greater herons. Usually found passing during the spring and fall.

Can they be sighted?

Yes! You will easily get this opportunity if you go on an unplanned trip to Dubai.

Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is from where I learned these wow facts. It is also where I sighted most of these rarities. The show-stealers, however, were the flamingos. They created a picture-perfect sight in the wetlands, with their beautiful pink feathers.

4 - I Tandem Skydived to see Palm Island in Dubai

Do you recall me telling you that I have a fear of heights? If you do, then you surely know this was a challenge I took.

Undeniably worth it!

What was unique about tandem skydiving in Dubai?

There is a wow fact about tandem skydiving in Dubai! The types of jumps are, of course, similar to any other countries (in general). But here we could explore the world’s largest artificial archipelago!

We were also able to see the Atlantis Hotel, Burj Al Arab, The World Islands, and Dubai Marina! An all-in-one sight-seeing experiences.

What were the charges like to skydive in Dubai?

The Palm Drop Zone that we chose was quite expensive compared to the other spots. However, it gave us a spectacular view and best skydiving experience (as first-timers).

If you are on a budget and still want to try skydiving in Dubai, then you can take the Desert Campus Drop Zone. If you are more afraid of heights than I am, then you should try Indoor skydiving. Best way to take that first step to overcome your fear of heights. It’s wallet-friendly too! (Thank me later!)

5 - I travelled on the longest driverless metro line in the world!

Wow! I could not wait to boast about it.

I have given you the wow fact already, but not the double-wow facts yet.

The city’s Red Line (32.37 miles), runs through the heart of Dubai like an artery. I am not exaggerating, but the experience of taking the Red Line was completely futuristic!

The Red Line cuts through the centre of Dubai and flies past the city’s many newly built skyscrapers and landmarks.

What is so special about this metro line?

The Red Line experience includes cheap fares, air-conditioned cabins, on-time service, and multiple ticket classes! It’s like a Do-It-Yourself tour of Dubai when you take the metro.

The double-wow fact here is, the Red Line consists of more than twenty tourist spots and restaurants!

What are these tourist spots and restaurants?

iFly Dubai

Dubai Festival City

Deira City Centre

Dubai Creek

Xiao Wei Yang

The Noodle House

Red Shrimp

ADCB (formerly Karama Souk)

Zabeel Park

World Trade Centre

The Emirates Towers

Applebee’s

Tim Hortons

Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

Burj Khalifa

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Mall

Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates

Dubai Marina

Jumeirah Lake Towers

Ibn Battuta shopping mall

Did the Red Line metro tickets cost a lot?

I had the same concern as you. But luckily, it was significantly cheaper than I thought.

For tourists and occasional visitors, they offer ‘red tickets’. And they cost only 0.46 Euros!

It’s interesting as it sounds. Because the Red tickets are worth for ten trips or five daily passes!!

6 - I lost myself in the most extensive natural flower garden in the world

Miracle Garden was one of my favourite places to visit in Dubai. The garden was like a total animation. My trip to Dubai would have definitely not been complete without having visited this garden.

The wow fact about the miracle garden could go on as a list.

Starting from, the fact that it displays almost 50 million flowers at its premises!

Then, the responsible use of water through drip irrigation! I mean, don’t we know they could have spent millions on bringing freshwater for the garden if they wished? But they didn’t!

What were the best things to do in the Miracle Garden?

The garden included so many entertainment facilities and attractions. Some of them that we did not miss out were;

Floral Parades

Street performances

Zumba sessions

Trampoline Park

Disney Avenue

Mickey Mouse

Life-size Emirates A380

Lost Paradise

Cabanas for relaxation

Butterfly Passage

Hearts Passage

Umbrella Passage

Giant Tortoise

Floral Clock

Floral Castle

Giant Teddy Bear

Lake Park

Hill Top

Next How much did the visit to Miracle Gardens cost?

The entrance fee for us (adults) was nearly 9.16 Euro per head. For my seven-year-old nephew, we paid 6.53 Euro, and the baby nephew was allowed in for free.

Additional costs? Definitely, for all the snacks, we whacked at all the restaurants, kiosks, cafes and sweet bars!

#ThisIsNotTheEnd

So, I’ve spoken about the six best encounters and wow facts already. I hope you all had a good time taking notes. That means, now you know some of the must-do on your next trip to Dubai!

But trust me, these aren’t everything that Dubai has for you. I have only spoken about a few. There is so much more I could talk about, but if you wish to read. So, let me know in the comments if you are interested to know more about my trip to Dubai!

You can also read this e-book from Travel Center.

Oh, and there is something important about my trip to Dubai that I should not forget to mention!

Although my brother escorted us in Dubai, we did need a Travel agent! I mean, how else could we have got some of the best Dubai deals? It is where Travel Center came in functional!

If you are planning on your trip to Dubai, then you must talk to one of the travel experts at Travel Center. They not only provide you with the best travel solutions but also give you a list of customized and affordable deals to choose from!

Now, that makes my seventh wow fact for you. (Chuckles)

Read More:- Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

This Article, Information & Images Source (copyright):- Travel Center UK Blog

#travel #traveller #travelling #travelcenteruk #travellife #travelgoals #travelblog #travelblogger #destinations #dubai

0 notes

projectdroid1-blog · 6 years

Text

Avoiding Option Trading Trap

Avoiding Option Trading Trap https://www.projectdroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/word-image-160.png https://www.projectdroid.com/ebook/avoiding-option-trading-trap/

Avoiding Option

Trading Traps: What to look for Strategies for Success

5 Common Problem Areas

Option Buying

Covered call writing

Bull Spreads

LEAPS covered writes

Running with the crowd

What Makes An Option

Purchase Profitable?

Foremost:

Favorable movement by the underlying

Secondarily:

An increase in implied volatility

Call Buying Problems

Getting too theoretical

Using the wrong strike price

Not factoring in implied volatility

Buying the wrong quantity

Which Option To Buy?

“The shorter term your horizon, the higher the delta should be.”

Day traders: use the underlying

Short-term position traders: buy in-the- money, short-term

Intermediate-term position traders (3 months or more): buy at the money.

Long-term: can consider LEAPS, at- or out-of-money

Always Use a Model

(especially in volatile situations)

It’s okay to buy an “expensive” option if you know that’s what you’re doing

…but you limit your profitability solely to the primary effect (stock price)

www.optionstrategist.com 800-724-1817 [email protected] F-7

Always Use a Model

(for your sanity)

Eliminates frustration when things go “wrong”

For example, “I’m always losing money even when the underlying stock makes a quick 3- or 4-point move in my favor”

The “frustration” problem:

Part I, the bid-asked spread

XYZ = 115 in July;

Sept 130 call: 8 bid, 9 asked

Delta: 0.46

Stock must rise nearly 2.25 to overcome bid-asked spread:

spread = distance to overcome “the vig” delta

The “frustration” problem:

Part II, Implied Vol changes

XYZ = 115 in July;

Sept 130 call: 8 bid - 9 asked Implied Volatility: 95%

Black-Scholes model: exposure is 16 cents per percentage point change in implied volatility

The “frustration” problem:

Suppose XYZ stock rises 4 points, but your option is only bid at 8-1/4!! What happened? (implied volatility dropped to 85%) Delta: option gains +1.84 (4 x 0.46) Volatility: option loses -1.60 (-10 x 0.16) Bid-asked spread: -1.00 Net: a loss of -0.76 is what the model “predicted” (Maybe you bought that call because it was the lowest strike you could ‘afford’; in-the-money would be better)

How Many Options Should I Buy?

Risk Management

Risk a fixed percent of your account on each trade (3%, e.g.) Automatically increases when you win and decreases when you lose Example: Account size = $100,000 You plan to risk 5 points on a stock trade Therefore, buy 600 shares of stock (3% risk)

How Many Options Should I Buy?

You could figure your risk = premium, but that’s unrealistic. Option costs 10 points ($1000) So buy 3, if your account size is $100,000 (3% risk)

How Many Options Should I Buy?

More likely scenario: you see XYZ break out at 100, and want to buy calls. But if it falls back to 95, the breakout is negated and you want to be out. What is the call buyer’s risk in this case?

How Many Options Should I Buy?

Using the model to estimate risk.

Oct 100 call costs 10 today ($1000). What would it be worth if XYZ fell to 95 in a week? A month? Black-Scholes model says: In 1 week, if XYZ = 95, Oct 100 call = 7 Therefore, risk = 3 points ($300) so you can buy 10 calls, not 3!

Covered Writing Problems

Failure to understand and limit the risk

Under-estimating stock ownership

Unwilling to let stock be called away

Covered Call Writing Positives

Increased income from stock

Profits even if stock unchanged

Less risky than stock ownership (downside protection for stock)

Covered Call Writing Negatives

Limited Profit Potential

Large downside risk potential

Covered Call Writing: Example

XYZ: 48 July 50 call: 3 ------------ Buy 100 shares XYZ and sell 1 XYZ July 50 call Net Debit: 45 points, plus commission

Results At Expiration

B XYZ @ 48 Sell July 50 call @ 3

Stock Price 40 Stock Profit -$800 Option Price 0 Option Profit +$300 Total Profit -$500 45 -$300 0 +$300 0 48 0 0 +$300 +$300 50 +$200 0 +$300 +$500 55 +$700 5 -$200 +$500 60 +$1200 10 -$700 +$500

Covered Writing Terms

At Expiration: Maximum Profit Potential ($500 above 50) Profit If Unchanged ($300 at 48) Downside Breakeven Point (45) Downside Risk (below 45)

Profit Graph At Expiration

Comparison To Owning Stock Total Return Concept

View the covered write as an entity unto itself -- a complete strategy involving both the stock and the option, including dividends received and margin expenses.

Willing to let the stock be called away

Calculate the pertinent returns if the write is held until expiration

Writing vs. Stock Already Owned

“If you are unwilling to let your stock be called away, then you are writing naked calls for all intents and purposes.”

Refusing to let stock be called:

Classic “disaster” scenario: Don’t want stock called away Plan to roll calls up or out Rolling up eventually incurs debits So naked puts are sold to reduce debits Stock crashes and wipes out the investor (e.g., PG, LLY, XRX, )

A “Better” Approach:

Rolling for Credits

Decide on a price at which you wouldn’t mind being called away

Can be far out-of-money

Plan to be fully covered at that price

Sell against only a portion today

Rolling for credits: example

Own 10,000 XYZ (70); would sell at 100 Sell 20 June 70’s today If XYZ = 80, roll up to 30 Sept (?) 80’s If XYZ = 90, roll up to 60 Sept 90’s If XYZ = 100, roll up to 100 Dec 100’s Each roll is to be done for a credit, so at the end you get 100 plus whatever credits.

Final Thoughts

Strategy has large downside risk, so choose stocks wisely -- don’t just rely on the percentage returns.

Don’t over-leverage

Don’t get “stuck” in a stock; use a stop loss of some sort

Bull Spread Problems

…or any vertical spread strategy

Over-use of strategy

Failure to realize spread won’t widen quickly

Enamored with credit spreads

Bull Spread

Vertical Spread

Makes money if the underlying rises in price

Can be implemented with either calls or puts

Call Bull Spread

Buy call at one strike,

sell call (expiring in same month) at a higher strike. Bull Spread - example XYZ: 32 Oct 30 call: 3 Oct 35 call: 1 Results at expiration: (Buy 1, Sell 1)

XYZ 25 Oct 30 Pft -$300 Oct 35 Pft +$100 Total Pft -$200 30 -300 +100 -200 32 -100 +100 0 35 +200 +100 +300 40 +700 -400 +300

Call Bull Spread - Profit Graph

Call Bull Spread Mechanics

Debit Spread

Risk is fixed = initial debit (2 pts.)

Maximum profit potential = difference in strikes - initial debit

= 5 - 2 = 3

Breakeven point =

Lower strike + initial debit = 30 + 2 = 32

Call Bull Spread: Implementation

Objective: to reduce risk of owning the long call, but still allow room for a large

percentage gain on the upside.

Often used when options are expensive, especially when the call being sold has a

higher implied volatility than the call being bought.

Call Buy vs. Bull Spread

F-38 www.optionstrategist.com 800-724-1817 [email protected]

Vertical Spread “Problem”

Countering the “Problem”

Space the strikes more widely

Start with strikes out-of-the-money (caution: probability of profit is

lower when you do this)

Degrees of Aggressiveness

XYZ: 100 “High Probability:” buy Oct 80, sell Oct 90 for 9 point debit Oct 80 call: 22 Oct 90 call: 13 Oct 110 call: 3 Oct 120 call: 1 “Aggressive:” buy Oct 110 call, sell Oct 120 call for a 2 point debit

Bull Spreads Using Puts

Very similar to call spread:

buy lower strike, sell higher strike

But, this is a credit spread

Profit potential = credit received

Breakeven = high strike - credit rcvd

Risk = distance between strikes minus credit received = margin required

In-money vs. out-of-money?

Put Credit (Bull) Spread Example

XYZ: 80 Jan 65 put: 1 Jan 60 put: 0.5 Buy Jan 60 put, Sell Jan 65 put: 1/2 cr Profit potential: 0.5 (high probability) Risk = 5 - 0.50 = 4.50 = margin rqmt Breakeven = 65 - 0.50 = 64.50

Put Credit Spreads

Deeply out-of-money spreads: Usually the strategy referred to when you see “96% winners!”

In reality, overall expected return is small: high probability of making a little, small probability of losing much more.

You are buying an expensive option to protect an expensive option: spinning your wheels?

Out-money Credit Spread Cautions

Where do you place stop loss?

Higher or lower strike?

Expiration?

Early assignment risk is usually something to be avoided

Especially with index options

One loss can wipe out 10 - 15 winners

LEAPS Problems

“Covered Writing” against LEAPS

is more like a bull spread

has more risk than you might think

can lose money on the upside

Diagonal Spreads

The general term used to describe any spread in which the options have different expiration dates and different striking prices

Most typically, one buys a longer-term option and sells and shorter-term option in a diagonal spread (but not always)

Diagonal Bull Spread

Modestly popular strategy, especially where LEAPS are concerned Buy a long-term option (in-the-money) and continually write short-term options against during its life. Sometimes thought of as a substitute for covered call writing, as well.

Comparing Bull Spreads

XYZ: 105 April 100 call: 10.5 April 110 call: 5.5 LEAPS (2-yr) 100 call: 26 LEAPS (2-yr) 110 call: 21.5 3 different bull spreads: buy 100 strike, sell 110 strike:

“Regular” short-term bull spread: uses April calls

“Regular” LEAPS spread: uses the LEAPS calls

“Diagonal” buy LEAPS call, Sell April call

Bull Spread Comparison

Diagonal Bull Spreads LEAPS seems best if it doesn’t fall too far. But what if they all rise a lot?

Diagonal Spread “Problem”

You are paying extra time value when you establish the position. So, if the options all go to parity while you’re in it, you will do worse than a “normal” position would.

How To Avoid

Running With The Crowd BECOME A CONTRARIAN

Put-call Ratios

Implied Volatility (high or low)

PUT-CALL RATIOS

For any group of options, you can calculate the ratio of puts traded to calls traded “Normal”: volume only “Dollar Weighted”: price times volume

PUT-CALL RATIOS

Any stock, index or sector

All equity options

•All futures options on a single underlying commodity (all gold futures options, e.g.)

Contrary Theory

“TOO MUCH” PUT BUYING IS BULLISH FOR THE UNDERLYING “TOO MUCH” CALL BUYING IS BEARISH FOR THE UNDERLYING

“NORMAL” Put-Call Ratio

Ratio = Volume of Puts Traded Volume of Calls Traded -Put buying generates high numbers -Call buying generates low numbers Keep a moving average (21 days?)

Equity- only

Put-call Ratio Breakdown as NYSE & NASD “Weighted” Put-Call Ratio Dollar volume = option price x option volume Ratio = Sum of dollar volume of puts Sum of dollar volume of calls Measures dollars being spent on bearish opinion vs. dollars being spent on bullish opinion

“Weighted” Put-Call Ratio

Can be computed on the same stocks, futures, or indices as the “normal” ratio

Generally gives more extreme readings

Slightly improves the timing of the signals

Comparison of “weighted” and “normal” equity-only ratios

IBM

Put-call Ratio

What Do You Buy?

General Theory

3-month, at-the-money option

Planning to risk all unless signal reverses

or profits build up (trailing stop)

Stocks With Good Put-Call History

(generally not takeover candidates) AOL AXP C CHV CMGI CPQ CSCO DELL DIS EK GE GM HWP IBM INTC JNJ LU MCD MRK MSFT PFE WCOM WMT

Sectors With Good Put-Call History

Banking: $BKX Pharmaceutical: $DRG Hong Kong: $HKO Japan: $JPN Mexico: $MEX Morgan Stanley High Tech: $MSH NASDAQ-100: $NDX Oil Service: $OSX Russell 2000: $RUT Semiconductor: $SOX CBOE Tech: $TXX Utility: $UTY Gold & Silver: $XAU Natural Gas: $XNG

Futures With Good Put-Call History

Australian Dollar British Pound Cocoa Coffee Corn* Cotton Crude Oil Deutsche Mark Eurodollar Gold Japanese Yen Lean Hogs Live Cattle Natural Gas S&P 500 Silver Soybeans* Sugar Swiss Franc T-Bonds Wheat* *: grains are suspect

Using Implied Volatility

IMPORTANT BULLISH SIGNAL

If a market is collapsing rapidly AND

Implied volatility is RISING rapidly

THEN when implied volatility peaks, the underlying is ready to rally

$VIX Buy Signals 1997-1999

Rating $VIX Buys 1997-99 $VIX Volatility Warnings 1997-99 $VIX Volatility Warnings 97-99 Recent $VIX Activity Tracking Recent Activity Mad Cow Disease More Uses of Implied Volatility WARNING OF EXPLOSION! When Implied Volatility reaches extremely low levels THEN THE UNDERLYING IS ABOUT TO MAKE AN EXPLOSIVE MOVE! (but we don’t know in which direction)

Nokia

The best one of all? J. C. Penney Summary •Always use a model

Trade all markets

Use follow-up strategies

Only trade in accordance with your personal philosophy

Contact information: Phone: 800-724-1817 email: [email protected] Fax: 973-328-1303 web site: www.optionstrategist.com

0 notes

rebeccahpedersen · 7 years

Text

Quick Hits!

TorontoRealtyBlog

After a week of serious conversations about foreign buyers, and taxation, I’m mentally drained.

There’s a lot that’s gone down this week that didn’t make the news too, so let me provide you with a few quick hits, a few anecdotes, and a few stories from the real estate trenches.

Did I tell you the one about the condo that found a ladder clogging the garbage chute? No, seriously. What’s with people?

Capital Gains Tax Stays At 50%

There was a lot of talk on TRB this week about the foreign buyer’s tax, and that spawned some conversations about other methods of taxation as well.

The federal budget was set to be released this week, and leading up to the budget, there were rumours swirling about the capital gains tax increasing from 50% to 75%.

I’m sure you know how I feel about that; I don’t like it. Not one bit.

There were no shortage of opinion pieces on how and why this would have a negative effect on the economy as a whole, but I felt it was yet another “tax on the wealthy,” and the increase from 50% to 75%, which itself represents a 50% increase, was absurd.

How about a 5% increase to start? Maybe take that 50% and bring it up to 52.5%?

No? We’re going right to 75%?

Well thankfully, the federal Liberals thought better of it, and there was no increase in capital gains, at least in this budget.

But many experts believe we’re off the hook for now, but not for good.

Rob Carrick wrote a great article in the Globe & Mail this week: “Have Capital Gains? Now Is The Time To Strategize”

Primary Residence Exemption

Somebody brought this up on the blog last week, and it scared the crap out of me.

Not in my wildest dreams, not even with all the disdain I have for Justin Trudeau and his constant taxing of the middle and upper class, did I ever think he and the Liberals would consider removing the primary residence exemption for capital gains.

Never.

Not until I read it in the comments section of my Monday blog.

Can you imagine?

You buy your house for $650,000, you sell it for $900,000. You keep the $250,000 profit. All of it.

That’s how it’s always been.

This isn’t an investment; it’s your home. Is there nothing more sacred?

Is there anything in this world that isn’t taxable?

They say “death is expensive,” as the government comes calling, and looking for their take. So perhaps it’s not naive to think one day, the government would start taxing the currently tax-free capital gain on your primary residence.

But if they did, I think it would be the biggest change in taxation in the history of Canada.

And it would drive a lot of people to move.

Maintenance Fees Rise 18% At 25 The Esplanade

I have five clients who live at 25 The Esplanade.

It’s one of the best buildings in the city.

It’s probably the best-managed building in the city, and despite the fact that it was built in 1987, they’ve kept their maintenance fees at $0.49/sqft.

That’s not a typo. That’s $0.49/sqft, and guess what else it is? It’s all-inclusive.

Their fees were at $0.49/sqft for four years, after they had risen from $0.46/sqft in 2009, to $0.47/sqft, and then $0.48/sqft.

And this year, the fees were raised a whopping 18%.

They now stand at $0.62/sqft, still all inclusive.

There are some people out there that look at “fee increases” as a bad indicator, and I think this is a mistake.

If the fees just went up 18%, I think it’s fair to say you’re safe from yet another fee increase for a while.

18% sounds like a big number, and it is.

But buyers need to put this in perspective: this is a 1987 building that has fees of $0.62/sqft, all inclusive, and the average fees in the city are probably around $0.72-$0.75, with you paying at least one of your own heat and hydro.

Fee increases happen.

They should happen every year, with every condo, unless we’re in a period of deflation.

So if you’re a buyer, put more emphasis on the current fees, and the history of increases – not just the “big number” in front of you today.

“Playing God” With The Front Door

The market is busy, right?

That’s an understatement.

It’s downright crazy, and if you’re a buyer, you know how many people are viewing a home by whether or not the front door opens as it pushes up against thirty pairs of shoes sitting in the foyer.

In this market, it’s very common for there to be 4-5 showings all at the same time, between 5pm and 8pm, when most people are out looking at houses.

For the most part, things run smoothly.

Agents respect each other, even though they’re competing, and they try to accommodate. I’ll take my clients downstairs first if I know another agent is upstairs. I’ll see agents I know, and we’ll greet each other, and be cordial. We’ll try our best to give another buyer some privacy if they’re conversing in one of the rooms, and we know we can wait a couple of minutes to take a look.

But once in a while, you get a buyer agent who decides that he or she is going to change the game, and dictate the rules.

And I’ve found a few agents this year that have decided to “play God with the door.”

Consider an agent that gets to the property at 5:55pm, for a 6pm showing, right before, say, three other agents with showings at 6pm.

This agent opens the front door, walks inside with his or her clients, then locks the front door.

The agent then takes a “private tour” through the house with his or her clients, while the three agents are outside, knocking on the door, to no avail.

Last week, an agent tried this with me, and I didn’t like it.

I knocked, and knocked, and knocked, and she took ten minutes to come answer.

When she opened the door, she acted surprised to see another human being, and dripping with condescension, almost proud of her actions, she said, “Oh, hello……..do you have a showing too?”

I said, “No, I’m a f****** girl-guide, selling cookies. If you ever pull this with me again, I’ll take you to RECO.”

She told me I was rude.

The two other sets of agents I was with thanked me.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, I know that. We learned that a long, long time ago.

But if you don’t call agents out on their poor practices, why would they be motivated to change?

“Seller Reserves The Right To Review And Accept Pre-Emptive Offers Without Any Notice And Without Notifying Any Agents”

Remember when I wrote about this “new practice” earlier in the year? If you missed it, read the blog post, HERE.

I’m pleased to say that it’s stopped, for the most part.

To pick up the theme from the point above – if you don’t call agents out on their poor practices, why would they be motivated to change – I’ll tell you that on Monday, I found another one of these listings with this line about accepting pre-emptive offers with no notice, which clearly breaches RECO rules.

I sent the listing to my manager, and he sent it to somebody at RECO, then called him directly.

A day later, the listing had been edited to read: “Seller Reserves The Right To Review Pre-Emptive Offers.”

I know it sometimes seems hopeless, but don’t simply say, “Filing a complaint won’t do anything,” because it can, and it will.

No Pre-Home Inspection

If you’re a seller in 2017, and your agent says, “We don’t need to do a pre-home inspection,” then your agent is cheap, lazy, and a liar.

Get rid of him.

To not provide a pre-home inspection in this market is to cost yourself 4-5 potential buyers on offer night, who would have made an offer, but didn’t have the time, or the wherewithal, to do their own inspection.

Last week, I emailed a listing agent and asked for a copy of the home inspection.

He wrote back:

“No, the Seller did not get a pre-inspection. The seller has decided to allow buyers to satisfy themselves with their own home inspection, should they wish to have one completed.”

Oh what a load of bullshit!

First of all, it’s not really “the seller” who didn’t get the inspection. It’s the agent. Sure, the seller could decide, but it’s the agent, if he or she is worth their salt, who is supposed to push the idea as a marketing tool, or really in this 2017 market, a bare essential.

Secondly, the wording of “allow buyers to satisfy themselves with their own inspection” is such an attempt to turn it back around on the buyer, when 9/10 decent listings out there have a pre home inspection.

And lastly, “…should they wish to have one completed,” is their way of saying, “What, you really feel that’s necessary? Well, okay, I guess…”

Novice Realtors

I’ve been accused on many occasions as being a “Realtor-basher,” since I routinely blog about “the bad actions of a just few.”

Well, maybe it’s no longer “just a few,” so does that make me any better or worse an agent for continuing to write things like the following?

I had a listing two weeks ago that brought out the worst in agents.

I could write a whole blog post on this, with forty different phone calls that would make your head spin, but that would really be Realtor-bashing.

So let me give you just one example.

Just listen to how this one phone call went.

Agent: “I wanted to ask you a few questions about your property.”

Me: “No problem.”

Agent: “Is there an offer date?”

Me: “It’s on the listing.”

Agent: “Do the sellers have a desired closing date?”

Me: “It’s on the listing.”

Agent: “Does the maintenance fee include utilities?”

Me: “It’s on the listing.”

Agent: “Is there a gym in this building?”

Me: “It’s on the listing.”

Agent: “If we do bring an offer, what address should I email it to?”

Me: “It’s on the listing.”

Call me a jerk if you want; tell me I was being unhelpful.

But come on! I have no time for this crap.

All that agent had to do was pick up a copy of the MLS listing that’s sitting on his or her desk, and read it!

I’ve never seen such poor worth ethic, and such laziness and sloppiness.

The bar is just so low right now, and more and more people are getting into the business. My buddy went to get fitted for his wedding suit the other day, and the girl said, “Oh cool, you’re in real estate? I’m doing my phase-two exam this weekend!”

What I’ve seen so far in 2017 is pathetic, and it’s making the experienced agents band together. I won in multiple offers a couple weeks ago when the listing agent told me, “It’s so great to see a familiar face,” and told me I wasn’t the highest offer, but to come up in price, as the highest offer was somebody with 18 mistakes in their offer, no cheque, and from a brokerage that’s been operating for nine weeks.

–

Well there you have it, folks!

Some random thoughts, from a pretty scattered week.

We’re starting to see inventory pick up in the single-family housing market though, and that’s exciting. Things should slow down again the week before the Easter long weekend, but then it’s smooth sailing until the end of June.

Any guesses on the average home price increase in March after we saw a 27.7% increase in February? I’m thinking it’ll top 30%. We’ll know in about 8-9 days.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

The post Quick Hits! appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

Originated from http://ift.tt/2n0PEAk