Ford ($F) Wheel Strategy Tracking with Cost Basis V2

Running the Full Wheel on Ford ($F) with Automatic Cost Basis Tracking

If you're selling options on Ford Motor Company ($F), you already know the routine: sell a cash-secured put, potentially get assigned, sell covered calls against your shares, and eventually get called out. It's the wheel strategy in its purest form, and Ford's consistent option premiums and dividend payments make it a popular choice for income-focused traders.

The challenge has always been tracking all of those moving parts. Every leg of the wheel generates a new transaction, adjusts your cost basis, and shifts your overall position. Spreadsheets can handle it, but they're tedious and error-prone. That's exactly why MyATMM built the new Cost Basis V2 screen — to handle the entire wheel cycle with seamless, automatic transaction tracking.

In this walkthrough, we'll run through a complete wheel strategy on Ford ($F) from start to finish, showing how every step is tracked automatically.

What Is the Wheel Strategy?

The wheel strategy is a systematic approach to generating income from stocks you're willing to own. It works in three repeating stages:

1. Sell a cash-secured put — Collect premium while agreeing to buy the stock at the strike price if it drops below that level.
2. Get assigned and own the stock — If the stock dips below your strike, you buy 100 shares at the agreed price. Your cost basis is the strike price minus the premium you already collected.
3. Sell covered calls — With shares in hand, sell call options against them. Collect more premium while waiting for the stock to rise back to your target price.

When the stock gets called away, you start the cycle over again. Each rotation of the wheel generates premium income regardless of which direction the stock moves.

Setting Up: Adding Ford to Cost Basis V2

The Cost Basis V2 screen is designed to be straightforward from the very first interaction. When you navigate to the page for the first time in a portfolio, you'll see an empty ticker dropdown. Here's how to get started:

1. Click the Add button to add a new ticker.
2. The cursor automatically focuses on the symbol field — type F for Ford.
3. Click Save.

MyATMM immediately pulls in the latest trading price for Ford. In our example, that was $11.60. The cost basis header is empty at this point because no transactions have been entered yet — but that's about to change.

Step 1: Selling a Cash-Secured Put on Ford ($F)

Every wheel starts with a cash-secured put. In MyATMM's Cost Basis V2, here's how it works:

1. Navigate to the Puts tab and click New Put.
2. Select Sell to Open as the action.
3. Enter 1 contract (representing 100 shares).
4. The expiration date automatically selects the next upcoming Friday — in our case, the 10th.
5. Set the strike price to $11.00 (slightly below the current $11.60 price).
6. Enter the premium received: $0.10.

As soon as you enter the premium amount, a proposed transaction appears below the form. It shows exactly what will be created: a Sell to Open option transaction for 1 contract, including the premium amount and your default commissions and fees.

Click Save, and two things happen simultaneously: the put position appears in the Puts tab, and the corresponding transaction is logged in the Transactions tab. The header updates to show 100 shares represented from the put, the collateral amount, and the premium collected so far.

You'll also notice the header displays dividend information for Ford — a $0.60 dividend paid on February 13th — and a weekly average trading range of $0.37. These details help you make informed decisions about strike selection and timing.

Step 2: Getting Assigned — Put to Stock

In our scenario, Ford's price drops below $11.00, which means the cash-secured put gets assigned. You're now obligated to buy 100 shares at the $11.00 strike price.

To handle this in MyATMM, click on the put position row (or the edit button) to open the position management dialog. You'll see four options:

• Expired — Nothing to do. Just delete the row.
• Roll — Opens a roll dialog where you can enter new position details. The old position gets deleted and a new one is created.
• Close — Buy to close the position. Creates a closing transaction and removes the position.
• Assigned — Converts the put into a stock position. This is what we want.

Clicking Assigned brings up the assignment details:

• Action: Buy to Open (you're buying the stock)
• Quantity: 100 shares
• Assignment price: $11.00 (the strike price)

The confirmation screen shows a clear summary of what's about to happen: the put position will be deleted, 100 shares of stock will be added, and one new transaction (the stock purchase) will be logged. Commissions are pulled in automatically from your account defaults.

Click Confirm, then Submit. The put disappears, a stock position appears, and the header updates: you now own 100 shares at a cost of $1,100 with no more collateral tied up in a put.

Step 3: Selling a Covered Call on Ford ($F)

With 100 shares of Ford in hand, it's time to sell a covered call. Navigate to the Calls tab and click New Call.

1. Select Sell to Open.
2. Enter 1 contract.
3. Set the expiration to the following Friday (the 17th in our example).
4. Set the strike to $11.00 — the same price we were assigned at, meaning if we get called out, there are zero capital gains on the stock itself.
5. Enter the premium: $0.15 per share.

The proposed transaction appears immediately, showing the ROI on this individual trade and all the transaction details. Your default commissions and fees are already populated.

Click Save, and the covered call position shows up in the Calls tab while the transaction is logged. The header updates to reflect the additional premium collected, increasing your total realized gain.

Step 4: Getting Called Out — Completing the Wheel

Ford's price rises above $11.00, and the covered call gets assigned. Time to close the loop.

Click on the call position row to open the management dialog. Select Assigned, and the details populate automatically:

• Action: Sell to Close (you're selling the stock)
• Quantity: 100 shares
• Price: $11.00 (the strike price)

The confirmation shows the summary: the call position will be deleted, 100 shares will be sold, and the sale transaction will be added. Click Confirm and Submit.

Everything cleans up automatically. The call position disappears, the stock position disappears, and you're left with a clean slate and four transactions documenting the entire wheel cycle:

1. Cash-secured put sold — Collected $10.00 in premium
2. Stock assigned (bought) — Purchased 100 shares at $11.00
3. Covered call sold — Collected $15.00 in premium
4. Stock called away (sold) — Sold 100 shares at $11.00

The Full Transaction History at a Glance

One of the most powerful aspects of Cost Basis V2 is the complete transaction trail. After running the full wheel on Ford, the Transactions tab shows every leg of the strategy in chronological order. You can see exactly how much premium was collected at each step, what commissions were charged, and how it all adds up.

This kind of visibility is critical for option sellers who want to understand their true performance over time. Instead of piecing together information from brokerage statements or maintaining complex spreadsheets, everything is in one place.

Net result: $23.96 in premium income after commissions and fees, with the stock bought and sold at the same price.

What Changed from the Original Cost Basis Screen?

The original cost basis page in MyATMM was more of a manual process. You'd add positions separately, add transactions separately, and manage each one individually. It worked, but it required more effort from the user.

Cost Basis V2 was rebuilt from the ground up to make the workflow seamless:

• Positions and transactions are created together — One save creates both the position and its corresponding transaction record.
• Assignments flow naturally — Clicking "Assigned" on a put automatically deletes the put, creates a stock position, and logs the purchase transaction.
• Rolls are handled in one step — Rolling a position deletes the old one, creates the new one, and logs everything.
• The header updates in real time — Shares owned, cost basis, collateral, unrealized gains, and total credits all update automatically with every action.
• Commissions and fees are pre-populated — Your default broker fees are pulled in automatically for every transaction.

Dashboard Integration

All of the data from your Cost Basis V2 positions flows directly into the MyATMM dashboard. Your total premiums collected, performance percentages, and portfolio summary all reflect the transactions you've logged.

As you add more tickers and run more wheel cycles, the dashboard gives you a complete picture of your options income strategy across your entire portfolio. The premiums tab, performance metrics, and summary views all update automatically.

Getting Started with Cost Basis V2

Whether you're running the wheel on Ford ($F), selling covered calls on dividend aristocrats, or managing cash-secured puts across a dozen tickers, Cost Basis V2 handles the tracking so you can focus on the strategy.

The key advantages for option sellers:

• One-step position and transaction creation — Stop entering the same data twice.
• Built-in assignment workflow — Puts convert to stock, calls close out stock, all with proper transaction logging.
• Real-time cost basis calculations — Always know your true cost basis including all premiums collected.
• Dividend awareness — See dividend information right alongside your options data.
• Complete audit trail — Every leg of every wheel is documented in your transaction history.