Who is Joel from Joel Income Journal?

Joel is a Singapore civil servant, husband and father of two. Since 2025 he has publicly documented his real income portfolio — high-yield ETFs, covered calls, cash-secured puts and PMCCs — on Substack and YouTube, with the goal of reaching $8,000 a month in passive income by age 50.

JIJ Options (jijoptions.app) is an options trading journal Joel built for wheel traders. It tracks cash-secured puts, covered calls and poor man's covered calls, links the full wheel cycle into one position, handles rolls in one click, and calculates win rate, realized P&L, break-even and annualised return. It costs $5.99/month after a 30-day free trial.

YieldScope (yieldscope.org) is a free tool Joel built that uses AI to score 100+ high-yield ETFs on yield quality, NAV health, risk and sustainability. No sign-up is required.

How are US dividends taxed for Singapore investors?

Singapore has no income tax treaty with the US, so under US rules for non-resident investors US-listed ETFs and stocks have 30% US withholding tax deducted from dividends. IRAS states that overseas income received by individuals in Singapore is generally not taxable, so the 30% withholding is generally the only tax. Return-of-capital distributions are usually not subject to that withholding.

What is the 99-delta ITM covered call strategy?

Instead of buying 100 shares, you buy a deep in-the-money call with a delta near 0.99, which moves almost like the stock for a fraction of the capital, then sell shorter-dated covered calls against it for income. Joel documents his 99-delta trades, including TQQQ and other leveraged ETFs, on Substack.

Which broker does Joel use for options and US ETFs?

Joel uses Interactive Brokers (IBKR) for options trading and margin, and Longbridge for commission-free US share trading.

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Options · 5 min read

The Wheel Strategy for Monthly Income

By Joel · Updated 26 September 2026

The short answer

→The wheel is a loop: sell a cash-secured put, get assigned shares if the stock falls, sell covered calls on those shares, and repeat when they're called away.
→You collect premium at every step, which lowers your break-even.
→The main risk is a stock that falls well below your put strike and stays there.

The four steps

Sell a cash-secured put (CSP): you agree to buy 100 shares at the strike price and keep the premium. You hold strike × 100 in cash as collateral.
If the stock stays above the strike, the put expires worthless. Keep the premium and sell another put.
If the stock closes below the strike, you're assigned: you buy 100 shares at the strike.
Sell covered calls on those shares. If they're called away, you're back to cash and the wheel starts again.

Worked example (illustrative numbers)

Sell $45 put, stock at $48	+$1.20 × 100 = +$120
Cash set aside	$4,500
Assigned at $45	Cost basis $45 − $1.20 = $43.80
Sell $46 covered call	+$0.90 × 100 = +$90
Break-even now	$43.80 − $0.90 = $42.90
Called away at $46	(46 − 42.90) × 100 = +$310 total

The rules I use

Only sell puts on tickers I'd be happy to own, at strikes near a support level. I use the Keltner Channel lower band.
If assigned, sell calls at or above my assignment price, so a call-away never locks in a loss on the shares.
Roll rather than panic. If a put is being tested, roll it out in time for a net credit when possible.
Track the whole cycle, from put to assignment to calls to call-away, as one position, so the P&L tells the truth.

The risks

A sharp fall leaves you holding shares worth much less than the strike. Premiums cushion the loss but don't remove it.
Covered calls cap your upside. In a strong rally you'll often be called away below the market price.
Cash-securing puts ties up a lot of capital per contract, so position sizing matters.

This is how I run the wheel in my own portfolio. It's education, not personal advice.

Track the full wheel as one position

JIJ Options links your put, assignment and every covered call into one position with a single net P&L and adjusted break-even.

Track the full wheel as one position →

Sources