Happy December! 2025 Wrap-up
Hello everyone! 2025 is coming to an end, and as we close out, it’s tempting to focus on the noise — the headlines, the surprises, the “I should’ve bought that!” moments. This year brought plenty of those:
The Fed signaling expected rate cuts but future cuts still uncertain
Consolidation rumors across media giants, including Netflix exploring a Warner Bros acquisition
Tech whipping between euphoria and exhaustion
Inflation cooling in waves rather than straight lines, government shutdowns, and up and down job reports
How do you even trade in this market? Should you? It goes to show you, 2025 wasn’t a year defined by prediction. It was a year defined by discipline.
It rewarded those who stayed calm, followed a process, and ignored the noise trying to pull them off their plan.
1. 2025: A Year Where Noise Was Louder Than Facts
Every week seemed to bring a new dramatic narrative:
“AI bubble! AI supercycle!”
“Soft landing!” → “No landing!” → “Hard landing!”
“Tech is done!” → “Tech is back!”
And sprinkled throughout were the headline-grabbing stories:
Tariffs on-and-off again
Fed pivot mania
Analysts guessing every possible policy path
But investors who chased headlines got tossed around.
At the end of the day:
Headlines don’t build wealth. Habits do.
2. Income Traders With Rules Had Their Best Year Yet
This year, I ran a structured income strategy which I talk about throughout — CSPs, covered calls, Wheel Strategy — and I had a strong year. My best year yet as a matter of fact!
And its not because markets were easy. But because I finally stayed discipline and implemented strict rules, rules which outperformed predictions.
The 2025 playbook that rewarded me:
Taking 20–30% profits early and often
Rolling intelligently and disciplined DCA’ing (dollar-cost averaging)
Staying selective with tickers
Picking high-quality businesses
Avoiding FOMO entries
Respecting risk before premium
I often fall back to familiar traps. Over-sizing because I believe it’ll go up. Tickers mooning so I gotta jump in now before I miss out! But I always have to remind myself: Consistency wins. Thrill-seeking loses.
3. The Biggest Lesson of 2025: Stop Asking “What’s Next?”
I speak to colleagues about trading all the time and I see this a lot:
“What’s the next big ticker?”
“Where’s the best premium?”
“Which stock is going to run next?”
It’s totally normal to think this way — but it’s also a trap.
That mindset leads to:
Trading names you don’t actually follow
Guessing instead of analyzing
Overreacting to IV spikes
Entering positions you can’t manage confidently
FOMO-driven mistakes that compound quickly
In contrast, my own trading this year was built on something simple:
Stick with the businesses you understand.
Trade the names you know.
Be consistent, not clever.
Sure, I missed home runs in other tickers.
But the trades I did take?
Consistently profitable because I understood every setup, the behavior, the range, and the risk.
Remember, long-term success isn’t about catching everything. It’s about catching the right things, repeatedly.
4. What 2025 Reinforced for Me (and Hopefully for You)
A few truths stood out clearly this year:
✔ The best trades come from familiarity, not novelty.
Knowing how a stock moves is an edge. Use it.
✔ Boring, repeatable setups compound better than hype.
Predictable liquidity > unpredictable volatility.
✔ Income trading is a marathon, not a sprint.
1–3% monthly beats the person trying for 10% monthly… who blows up.
✔ Assignments aren’t failures.
They’re part of the Wheel. Manage them, don’t fear them.
✔ Discipline beats intelligence.
The smartest investors still lose money when they trade emotionally.
5. Going Into 2026: Keepin’ It Simple
If 2025 proved anything, it’s this:
You don’t need more tickers, more trades, more IV, or more predictions.
You just need more consistency.
My (continued) mindset for 2026:
Stick to the names I know
Avoid unnecessary complexity
Respect risk first (size each trade respectfully), premium second
Let the system work without forcing trades
Capture income slowly and steadily
Double down on discipline, not excitement
I stuck to this plan and plan on sticking to this from here on out, and I don’t even pay attention to the dollar amount, just the percentage targets. Whether its $200 or $2000, 20% is 20%. Doing this, I noticed the profits just stack. Do this repeatedly and success will follow!
Final Thought for 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, I’m grateful for everything this year brought — the uncertainty, the breakthroughs, and the sense of stability that came from building a plan I truly believe in. It’s been an exciting chapter both personally and professionally.
If there’s one lesson I’m taking with me, it’s this:
Stay disciplined. Stay intentional. Keep things repeatable. Remove emotion.
Do that consistently, and the results will take care of themselves.
Thank you to everyone who followed along this year. This whole project only began off a random thought I had earlier this year, and the support and interest have meant more than you know. If anything I’ve shared helped you in even the smallest way, then this has all been worth it.
Wishing you a calm, focused, and profitable year ahead!
Regards
HL Financial Strategies