Bob, thanks for reading and paying attention. So the total balance in Dec was $185k. However, a fair amount of that was cash (I don't have the exact number at this time). The dividends I received came to be almost a 6.1% yield on the full balance, but as you point out, the cash doesn't yeild dividends. That means the dividends paid were higher than 6.1% on the stocks held.

Keep in mind I was looking for undervalued, dividend paying stocks. I bought XOM at a 10% dividend yield, VLO at an 8% yeild, an MLP at a 20% dividend yield, etc. I even had one small company I bought for $1.29 per share (purchased because they were selling for less than their assets) that turned around and paid out a special dividend of $1.35 per share in December. That's more than a 100% yield on that small position.

That is how I was able to get that much in dividends despite having a large cash balance to cover the puts.

I hope that helps clarify.

Thanks,

Jason