Thanks to my steadily growing portfolio of stocks, ETFs, bonds and other savings accounts, I approach financial independence one step at a time.
While dividend and interest payments provide me with a regular passive income, option trading offers me an additional source of active income.
Once a month, I keep track of my recent earnings. This is my monthly income statement for March 2019.
Passive Income
In March 2019, I earned €552.58 ($622) in passive income. This is about 25% more than in March 2018.
Last month, my passive income included the quarterly dividend payments from British-Dutch oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell, US electric and gas utility company Southern Co and US biotech company Gilead Sciences as well as the half-yearly dividends of Japanese tobacco group Japan Tobacco and Danish insulin specialist Novo Nordisk.
| Company | 2018 | 2019 | ∆ |
| Gilead Sciences | €16.13 | €19.59 | +21.4% |
| Japan Tobacco | €79.80 | €90.07 | +12.9% |
| Novo Nordisk | €48.72 | €51.60 | +5.9% |
| Royal Dutch Shell | €216.17 | €234.15 | +8.3% |
| Southern Co | €46.92 | €52.95 | +12.9% |
| Total | €407.74 | €448.36 | +10.0% |
Additionally, several interest payments increased my cash position last month. Thanks to my savings accounts at Weltsparen*, I was able to earn €104.22 in interest income.
Active Income
In March 2019, my option trading activities resulted in a loss of -€592.59 (-$667).
On the one hand, I was able to realize €68.87 in premiums by selling put options on Altria, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris.
On the other hand, I had to repurchase two (uncovered) calls, after BAT’s stock price saw an unexpected rebound, which resulted in a loss of -€661.46.
Note to myself: Don’t ever sell uncovered call options again!
Total Investment Income
In Q1 2019, I earned exactly €1,018.56 in investment income (previous month: €1,058.57) or €339.52 per month (previous month: €529.29).
Due to my rookie mistake of selling uncovered call options, I’m no longer on track for my annual goal, which is to generate an average investment income of €400 per month. However, April can hopefully put me back on track.
Summary
My investment income for 2019 is now expected to hit €4,040.05 (previous estimate: €3,879.24). This would be an increase of 11% compared to 2018.
How much investment income did you earn in March? Leave me a comment or get in touch with me on Facebook or Twitter!