Weekly options have revolutionized income trading. With options expiring every week (sometimes every day), you can collect premium faster and compound returns more quickly. But weekly options come with unique risks that require different management techniques.
Why Trade Weekly Options?
Weekly options offer several advantages for income traders:
- Faster theta decay: Time premium decays fastest in the final week. Weekly options capture this accelerated decay.
- More trading opportunities: Instead of 12 monthly trades per year, you get 52+ opportunities.
- Lower premium at risk: Smaller absolute premium means smaller absolute losses.
- Flexibility: Adjust positions weekly based on market conditions.
- Compounding: More frequent winners compound faster.
The math advantage: A 30-day option loses about 3% of its value daily at first, but 10%+ daily in the final week. Weekly sellers capture this acceleration every single week.
Weekly Options Income Math
Let us compare monthly vs weekly selling on the same underlying:
Monthly vs Weekly Comparison (SPY at $500)
| Metric | Monthly (30 DTE) | Weekly (7 DTE) |
|---|---|---|
| Premium (5% OTM put) | $4.00 | $1.20 |
| Trades per year | 12 | 52 |
| Annual premium | $4,800 | $6,240 |
| Management required | Low | High |
| Commission impact | Low | Higher |
Weekly options generate 30% more premium but require 4x more management.
Best Weekly Options Strategies
1. Weekly Credit Spreads
The most popular weekly income strategy. Defined risk makes it manageable for active trading.
Weekly Put Credit Spread
QQQ at $440, Monday morning
- Sell $430 put (2.3% OTM) expiring Friday for $1.80
- Buy $425 put for $1.20
- Net credit: $0.60 ($60 per contract)
- Max risk: $5 - $0.60 = $4.40 ($440)
- Return on risk: 13.6% in 4-5 days
- Annualized: 700%+ (theoretical)
Realistic expectation: 70% win rate at this delta. Average annual return: 40-60% after losses.
2. Weekly Iron Condors
Collect premium from both sides when expecting a quiet week.
Weekly Iron Condor
SPY at $500, expecting low volatility week
- Sell $490/$485 put spread for $0.50 credit
- Sell $510/$515 call spread for $0.45 credit
- Total credit: $0.95 ($95 per iron condor)
- Max risk: $5 - $0.95 = $4.05 ($405)
- Profit range: $490 to $510 (4% range)
- Return if successful: 23.5% weekly
3. Weekly Covered Calls
Write calls on stock positions every week for aggressive income.
Weekly Covered Call
Own 100 AAPL at $175
- Monday: Sell $180 call expiring Friday for $0.80
- Premium collected: $80
- Weekly return: 0.46%
- Annual potential: 24% from weekly calls alone
Tip: Sell Monday morning for maximum time value, or Wednesday after any early-week volatility settles.
Timing Your Weekly Trades
When you enter matters for weekly options:
- Monday AM: Full 5 days of time value. Best for premium sellers.
- Wednesday: Avoid early-week volatility. 2-3 days of decay.
- Thursday/Friday AM: Minimal premium but very short exposure. "0DTE" trading.
Weekly Calendar
- Monday: Open new positions
- Tuesday-Wednesday: Monitor, adjust if needed
- Thursday: Close at 50%+ profit or let ride
- Friday: Positions expire or close before close
Risk Management for Weeklies
Weekly options require tighter risk controls:
Position Sizing
- Risk no more than 1-2% of account per weekly trade
- Keep total weekly exposure under 10% of account
- Start with 1-2 positions, scale up with experience
Stop Losses
- Credit spreads: Close at 2x credit received (loss = 1x credit)
- Iron condors: Close entire position at 2x credit
- Time stop: If position not profitable by Thursday, consider closing
Avoid These Weeks
- Federal Reserve meeting weeks
- Jobs report Friday
- CPI/PPI release weeks
- Triple/quadruple witching
- Earnings season (on individual stocks)
0DTE Trading: Same Day Options
Zero days to expiration trading has exploded in popularity. It is high-risk but can generate fast income.
0DTE Credit Spread Example
SPY at $500, Friday morning 9:45 AM
- Sell $495 put (1% OTM) expiring today for $0.50
- Buy $493 put for $0.30
- Net credit: $0.20 ($20 per contract)
- Max risk: $2 - $0.20 = $1.80 ($180)
- Trade duration: 6 hours
- Return if successful: 11% in one day
Warning: 0DTE options have extreme gamma. A 1% move can turn a winner into a max loser in minutes.
Weekly Income Projections
Realistic expectations for a $50,000 account focused on weekly options:
Conservative Weekly Strategy
- Strategy: Credit spreads on SPY/QQQ
- Trades per week: 2-3
- Average credit per trade: $75
- Win rate: 75%
- Average loss: $150
- Weekly expectancy: ($75 x 0.75 x 3) - ($150 x 0.25 x 3) = $56.25
- Annual income: $56.25 x 50 weeks = $2,813 (5.6%)
Aggressive Weekly Strategy
- Strategy: Weekly iron condors + 0DTE
- Trades per week: 5-8
- Average credit per trade: $100
- Win rate: 70%
- Average loss: $200
- Weekly expectancy: ($100 x 0.70 x 6) - ($200 x 0.30 x 6) = $60
- Annual income: $60 x 50 weeks = $3,000 (6%)
**Note:** These are base returns. Skilled traders with good timing can achieve 15-30% annually from weeklies.
Tools for Weekly Trading
- Economic calendar: Know what events are coming each week
- IV rank/percentile: Sell when IV is elevated
- Options chain analysis: Compare strikes and expirations quickly
- Trade journal: Track every trade to improve over time
- Alerts: Set price alerts for position management
Common Weekly Options Mistakes
- Overtrading: Just because you can trade weekly does not mean you should
- Ignoring events: Selling into FOMC or jobs reports
- Too tight strikes: Chasing premium with high probability of loss
- No exit plan: Holding losers until expiration
- Sizing too big: One bad week wipes out months of gains
Track Your Weekly Trades
Pro Trader Dashboard automatically tracks your weekly options performance. See win rates by day of week, optimal entry timing, and total premium collected.
Summary
Weekly options accelerate the income generation process by capturing the fastest theta decay. While they require more active management and carry unique risks, skilled traders can generate consistent income by selling weekly credit spreads, iron condors, and covered calls.
Start conservatively, track your results, and gradually increase size as you develop your edge. Weekly options are not for everyone, but for active traders willing to put in the time, they offer compelling opportunities.
Want to explore other income strategies? Learn about credit spread income or master iron condor trading.