One investor is quietly pulling in roughly $2,500 a month from the stock market using a strategy that most everyday investors have heard of but rarely pursue seriously.
The investor shared screenshots in a recent Reddit post showing an average monthly profit of about $2,525 over six months from selling covered calls and cash-secured puts.
The approach is commonly known as the “wheel,” a repeating cycle of options trades designed to generate consistent income rather than speculative gains.
The strategy begins with selling cash-secured puts, allowing investors to collect option premiums while potentially purchasing a stock at a lower price than its current market value.
If shares are assigned after a put expires, the investor then sells covered calls against those shares to generate another layer of premium income on top.
The process repeats continuously, creating what proponents describe as a reliable cash flow engine built around stocks the investor is comfortable owning long-term.
According to screenshots shared in the post, the investor completed 138 trades with a 74% win rate and generated more than $15,000 in net profit over six months.
Much of that activity centered on D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), a volatile quantum-computing stock that produced larger option premiums because of its significant price swings.
“I think a lot of people still find the stock market intimidating, especially when options are involved, but once you understand the basics, these strategies are not as complex as they might seem,” he wrote.
“There are also plenty of tutorials and resources available now, so getting started is much easier than it used to be,” he added, noting that online education has lowered the barrier for new options traders significantly.
The investor was clear that beating the broader market is not his primary objective, separating his goals from those of typical growth-focused stock pickers.
“My focus is on generating consistent, realized income rather than chasing paper gains,” he wrote, a framing that drew both praise and pushback from commenters in the thread.
Several commenters argued that simply buying and holding successful growth stocks tends to produce stronger long-term returns, particularly during extended bull market runs.
The investor largely conceded that point, writing, “In the long run, simply holding a stock will generally produce higher returns.”
He framed the tradeoff as a personal choice rather than a mathematical argument, noting, “There’s definitely value in having cash flow today instead of waiting a decade for your portfolio gains to materialize.”
One experienced trader in the discussion estimated that generating around $2,500 per month consistently would likely require roughly $100,000 in invested capital, depending on market conditions and the specific stocks used.
Others in the thread warned that the strategy can become painful during sharp market downturns, when option premiums may not fully offset losses in the underlying stock positions.
That risk is built into the structure of the wheel itself, since the investor is always exposed to the price movement of shares he either holds or has agreed to potentially purchase.
The strategy also demands ongoing attention, requiring investors to actively manage positions, roll options when necessary, and stay disciplined about which stocks they select as candidates.
For investors who prefer a more passive approach, the wheel is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution, making its accessibility somewhat dependent on how much time a person can dedicate to portfolio management.
