RESEARCH • RECORD • REVIEW

How to journal a credit spread: both legs, one review

Record a fictional put credit spread with clear assumptions, an expiration payoff calculation and a separate review of execution.

Published by OptionsDiaries · Updated September 20, 2026. Educational examples, not personalized investment advice. Prepared with AI assistance; no claim of independent expert review.

A spread journal needs two levels of detail: the complete position and the individual contracts. Recording only “put spread, $120 credit” makes it difficult to check the original assumptions or explain a later adjustment. This worked example is for recordkeeping, not a recommendation to open a spread.

Start with an explicit fictional position

Assume one short put at a 100 strike and one long put at a 95 strike, on the same underlying with the same expiration. Assume a standard multiplier of 100 and a net opening credit of $1.20 per share. These are invented numbers, not quotes. The five-point strike width is $500 for that assumed multiplier; the opening credit is $120.

For an intact bull put spread at expiration, the theoretical maximum gain is the credit, maximum loss is strike width minus credit, and break-even is the short strike minus credit. American-style short options can be assigned early. Assignment and expiration handling can introduce stock exposure and operational risks that a payoff diagram does not show. See the Options Industry Council’s bull put spread explanation.

Put the calculation beside its assumptions

These figures assume both legs remain intact and are handled as the stated spread. They are not a guarantee about every path through assignment, exercise, liquidation or a later position change. Keep broker requirements and actual costs separate from the simplified expiration calculation.

Copy this spread record

Underlying; observation timestamp:
Short leg: type / strike / expiration / quantity / fill:
Long leg: type / strike / expiration / quantity / fill:
Multiplier and source of contract specifications:
Net opening credit and opening fees:
Width; theoretical expiration loss; assumptions:
Reason for the idea and opposing evidence:
Assignment and expiration questions to resolve:
Each later fill, fee and position change:
Closing result and evidence review:

If one leg is closed or replaced, create a dated position update. Do not leave the original “defined spread” description attached to a materially different position. Preserve the initial record so that a later review can distinguish the original idea from subsequent decisions.

Separate the result from the explanation

Suppose the fictional intact spread is later closed for a $1.80 debit. The net premium result is ($1.20 − $1.80) × 100 = −$60 before all opening and closing fees. Use actual confirmations for a real position. If your platform shows another number, reconcile commissions, quantities, execution prices and whether any contract remained open.

The research review might say: “My original evidence weakened after the update; I documented that before checking the final result.” The process review might say: “I recorded the spread credit but forgot the individual leg fills.” These are different findings. Neither can be inferred from the loss amount alone.

One practical quality check

Ask whether another reader could reconstruct every open contract and understand every calculation from the entry. If not, complete the missing fields before relying on the record for a later review. The related templates below can help organize the reasoning and the post-trade checklist.