Dykstra: For Options, This BUD's for You

I love your column and your deep-in-the-money calls. I'm a novice with a very limited amount in my portfolio, so I try to pick the DITM calls that you purchase, but I only can purchase one option -- I find sometimes I cannot get filled at the price you suggest. Is it because I'm purchasing such a small order? Keep up the great strategy

-- Jill

Even an investor with a limited budget can make money using my DITM calls strategy; you can do so by purchasing fewer contracts to match the size of their portfolio. Please be assured that the small size of your order is not the reason your order is not filled. If you check the price range of the option on the day you place your order, you will notice that the price of the option was priced beyond your limit order.

Thank you for sharing your strategy. Even more than you options picks, I appreciate your patient coaching and encouragement. Your columns have taught me how to stick with a winning game plan, a skill I lacked when I started investing last year.

It is clear that you do not need to write this column for the money. I hope that you choose to continue to write it for many more months or years, so that I and others like me may continue to learn.

Thanks again.

-- Sandra

You bring up an excellent point in your kind email. It is important to trade investments with discipline and without emotional attachment. It is the emotional trader who buys and sells at all the wrong times. We can thank them for making it possible for us to profit, but we don't ever want to join their ranks. I enjoy making money, and I enjoy sharing with those who want to learn.