I’ve been investing for a long time, and more recently I’ve had some great success in the world of stock options. While they’re risky, they can also be an extremely rewarding means of making money if they’re handled right.

If you’re new to the trading world, or even experienced but find yourself struggling, I’d like to give you a few pieces of advice that I think will help you out in your quest to become a great trader. Follow these tips and you’ll be in better shape when it comes to trading options.

You may or may not be aware of the fact that options lose value over time. This is known as time decay, and it basically means that the longer it is until an options contract expires, the higher of a price it will sell at relative to nearer contracts at the same strike price.

Let’s say you buy a contract for December while we’re in the month of April. The stock price is at $13, and the strike price on the contract is $16. Clearly, there’s a higher percentage chance that this stock will break $16 between now and December than there is between now and May. As a result, contracts with an expiration date that’s further out will sell at a higher price.

Additionally, the concept of protecting your investment on an option trade is a really important one. Too many people throw all of their eggs into one basket, not accounting for the possibility of the opposite of what they expect.

A patient and wise investor will generally do this for the protection and the piece of mind.

Had they hedged by giving up just a few dollars, they would have kept 90% of what they lost.

By adhering to these tips, I’m sure of the fact that you’ll be well ahead of the typical novice.

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