Covered Call / Cash Covered Put vs Dividends : I Chose Growth (For Now)

Is selling covered puts/calls better than earning dividends?

It depends, mainly on your goals and how much effort you’re willing to put in.

If I had continued my dividend investing journey, the path would have been straightforward. Buy REITs and blue chips, hold them long term, and let the dividends compound over time.

The problem? Growth is slow.

After running my own calculations and simulations, I realised it would take a very long time to reach the level of income I’m aiming for.

So I changed my approach.

In the past, I made a mistake, selling long-dated covered calls and treating them like dividends. It felt passive, but it wasn’t efficient.

Now, I focus only on short-term (weekly) covered puts and calls.

The difference is significant.

For example, with around $30,000 USD deployed in cash-secured puts, I’m generating roughly $300 USD per week on average. If I can sustain that over a full year (52 weeks), that’s about $15,000 USD, effectively a 50% return on capital.

Of course, this approach comes with trade-offs. By selling options, I may miss out on the full upside if the underlying stock runs strongly.

But that’s a trade I’m willing to make right now.

Because my priority today is not stable income, it’s capital growth.

I want to build my base as quickly as possible. Once I’ve reached a certain level, I can always pivot back to dividend investing for stability and consistency.

For now, I’m focused on acceleration.

Dividends can wait. Maybe I’ll revisit that strategy in the next one to two years.

But today, it’s all about growing the war chest.