July 27, 2026
Monthly UpdateJuly 2026: The Wheel Keeps Spinning — A Big SCHD Cycle Completes and VTI Gets Assigned
A month of textbook executions: VTI assigned, SCHD called away, and the wheel rolls on into August.
July delivered exactly what the wheel is supposed to deliver: a clean assignment on VTI, a completed profit cycle on SCHD, and new positions rolled out for August. No drama, no surprises — just the system doing its job, one expiration at a time.
By the time the dust settled, I'd taken in $15,706 for the month and closed out a SCHD round-trip worth more than $46,000 in total profit since the June 18 assignment.
The Numbers
July 1 — The VMFXX Dividend
Right on schedule, the money market fund paid out: $4,409.88 in VMFXX dividends. This is the "double-dip" at work — cash sitting as collateral for cash-secured puts still earns interest while it waits. It's a small thing every month, but it adds up, and it never requires me to do anything.
July 17 — VTI Put Assigned
Going into expiration, I was holding 11 contracts of VTI cash-secured puts at a $370.00 strike, sold back in June for $4.60/share in premium.
VTI closed at $367.01 — below my $370.00 strike — so I was assigned 1,100 shares. I'd collected $5,060 in premium ($4.60/share) when I sold the puts, which brings my net cost basis down to $365.40/share.
Since VTI closed at $367.01, above that $365.40 basis, I was actually sitting on a day-one unrealized gain of $1.61/share — $1,771 total — the moment the shares landed in my account. Getting assigned "below the strike" doesn't mean losing money; it means owning a great asset at a price you already agreed was fair.
July 21 — New VTI Covered Calls
Four days after taking assignment, I turned around and sold covered calls against the new VTI position.
11 contracts at $5.86/share, expiring August 21. That's $6,446 in fresh premium. Combined with the $5,060 already collected on the puts, my net cost basis on this VTI position is now $359.54/share — a $10.46/share cushion below where I was first willing to buy.
Annualized, this single trade cycle works out to roughly 18.6% APR. That's the put premium plus the call premium, measured against the collateral tied up, compounded over the holding period. Numbers like that are why the wheel keeps earning a place in the portfolio even when the headlines are all about growth stocks.
July 24 — SCHD Called Away: Closing the Loop
SCHD's covered calls, sold back on June 25 at a $32.50 strike, came due on July 24.
SCHD closed at $33.29 — comfortably above my $32.50 strike — so all 48,500 shares were called away. This closes out a full cycle that began with the June 18 assignment at $32.00, and it's worth tallying up the whole thing:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Capital gains ($32.00 → $32.50) | $24,250.00 |
| Covered call premium | $9,700.00 |
| June dividend | $12,258.96 |
| Total SCHD Cycle Profit | $46,208.96 |
Cash proceeds from the call-away landed back in VMFXX, pushing the cash balance up to roughly $1,612,088.84 — earning interest while I decide the next move.
July 27 — New SCHD Puts Sold
Today, I put the proceeds back to work.
485 contracts at $0.10 premium, requiring $1,576,250 in collateral — an exact match to the cash proceeds from the SCHD call-away. My liquid cushion sits untouched at roughly $35,838.84, plus the $4,850 in fresh premium, for about $40,688.84 readily available.
July Income Summary
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| VMFXX dividend | $4,409.88 |
| VTI covered calls (Jul 21) | $6,446.00 |
| SCHD cash-secured puts (Jul 27) | $4,850.00 |
| Total July Income | ~$15,705.88 |
Portfolio State (End of July)
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 |
| YTD Total | $83,278 | $35,605 | ~$118,883 |
Just under $119K through seven months. We're tracking toward the $205K gross / $160K net annual target, and both wheels are freshly re-loaded heading into August.
Looking Ahead: August
August's projected cash flow is shaping up at roughly $15,594.90:
- VTI covered calls (Aug 21): $6,446.00 already in hand
- SCHD cash-secured puts (Aug 21): $4,850.00 already in hand
- VMFXX interest: ~$4,298.90
Both positions expire on the same day this cycle, and both sides of each trade look good to me:
Win-win, both ways. If SCHD stays above $32.50, I pocket the $4,850 premium and roll into September. If it dips below, I get assigned at a net cost basis of $32.40 — cheaper than my last entry, and perfectly positioned for the Q3 dividend in late September. If VTI stays below $370, I keep the shares and the premium and write fresh September calls. If it rises above $370, the shares get called away and the total VTI wheel profit on this cycle comes to $11,506 in combined put and call premium.
Lessons This Month
1. A full cycle is easier to evaluate than a single trade. Looking at the SCHD assignment on June 18 and the call-away on July 24 together — capital gains, premium, and dividend all combined — makes the $46,209 profit obvious in a way that no single expiration date would show on its own. Judge the wheel over cycles, not snapshots.
2. Assignment "below the strike" isn't a loss. VTI closed at $367.01 against a $370 strike, and I still had a day-one unrealized gain. Premium collected up front changes the math on what counts as a good outcome.
3. Redeploy promptly. Cash sitting in VMFXX still earns interest, but it doesn't earn premium. Getting the new SCHD puts on the same day the shares were called away kept the collateral working without a gap.
The wheel keeps spinning.
— Russell