You already know the rules. These calculators just do the arithmetic for you. Four calculators covering the checks readers ask about most – plug in your numbers, get a straight answer, no guessing.
Work out how much of an option's price is time value, not intrinsic value.
This premium is lower than the intrinsic value alone. Double-check your numbers — that combination isn't typical.
Time value is calculated as premium minus intrinsic value, expressed as a percentage of the underlying price. This is an educational tool, not financial advice — see The ITM Plan's Replication Pack for the full methodology.
Check whether your strike has drifted too far below the roll-up trigger.
ETF
Model
SPY Base Model: roll up when your strike drops to 48% of the current price.
This checks whether your strike has drifted to the roll-up threshold for your chosen ETF and model. It doesn't tell you which option to roll into — see The ITM Plan for how rolling up and out works. This is an educational tool, not financial advice.
Check whether a golden or death cross has actually been confirmed, or is just touching.
SPY uses the 10-day and 200-day SMA, confirmed with at least 1.5% white space.
White space is the gap between the two SMAs, measured as a percentage of the longer SMA. A cross only counts once this gap clears the threshold for that ETF, not the moment the lines simply touch. This is an educational tool, not financial advice — see The ITM Plan's Replication Pack for the full methodology.
All four must be true before entering a bear-market trade.
Reminder: even if all four conditions are met, The ITM Plan does not open a new bear trade during the Christmas / New Year period (the last five trading days of December and the first two of January). Wait until the new year to enter.
This checks the ITM bear-market IN signal only. It doesn't watch the market for you or tell you when to exit — see The ITM Plan for the full bear-market OUT signal and rules. This is an educational tool, not financial advice.
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Please note that Heather answers all questions at the end of the ITM Blog.
Happy trading!