Cash-Secured Puts: Income Strategy Guide 2026
Cash-secured puts let you generate income from stocks you'd actually want to own. You get paid to agree to buy a stock at a lower price — and if it never reaches that price, you keep the cash for free. Here's how to do it right.
What Is a Cash-Secured Put?
A cash-secured put is when you sell a put option while holding enough cash to buy the underlying stock if it drops to your strike price.
Example: You want to own 100 shares of OKLO. It's trading at $65. You sell a $60 put expiring in 30 days for $2.50. You collect $250. Two outcomes:
1. OKLO stays above $60 → put expires worthless, you keep $250 2. OKLO falls below $60 → you're assigned 100 shares at $60 (effectively $57.50 after the premium you kept)Why It Works
The math is simple: you're being paid to be patient. Every month you sell a cash-secured put and it expires worthless, you're reducing your effective entry price on a stock you wanted anyway. It's the most capital-efficient way to accumulate long-term positions.
Strike and Expiration Selection
Follow the same 30-delta, 30-45 DTE framework used for covered calls. Set a target price you'd genuinely be happy to own the stock at and use that as your strike — never sell a CSP you're not prepared to be assigned on.
Best Brokers for Cash-Secured Puts
Tastytrade's free-to-close model is ideal — you pay $1 to open the position and nothing to close it at 50% profit, maximizing your return on capital deployed. See our full options broker comparison.
Tastytrade is built for options traders — the best platform for covered calls, cash-secured puts, and spreads.
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