I Only Have $1,300 but Want to Start Making Money With Options. Am I Being Realistic or Setting Myself Up to Lose It?

Adrian Volenik

Sat, September 12, 2026 at 5:18 PM GMT+3 7 min read

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You don't necessarily need tens of thousands of dollars to start trading options. One aspiring trader had a little more than $1,300 in their trading account and wondered whether that was enough to start growing their money, or whether such a small balance made the whole idea unrealistic.

They asked Reddit's r/Daytrading community for the "safest way" to approach options, along with stock recommendations and advice. The responses ranged from warnings to surprisingly encouraging answers, but one point came through clearly: $1,300 can be enough to start, as long as the goal isn't turning it into a fortune overnight.

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Starting Small Changes How You Have to Trade

"$1k is more than enough if you know what you're doing," one commenter was unequivocal.

But knowing what you're doing is the important part. Options aren't simply about deciding whether a stock will rise or fall.

"If you want to trade options its not as simple as 'I think the price will drop, buy puts,'" the commenter added. "You have to have an idea of how much it'll drop and the time frame."

Contract selection, expiration dates, price movement, volatility and time decay can all affect whether a trade makes money. With only $1,300, understanding those mechanics becomes especially important because there isn't much room for repeated big mistakes.

The flip side is that starting small doesn't have to mean trading inefficiently. Public, which has been offering investors new ways to help grow their wealth since 2019, is the only broker that pays rebates on options trades. You can earn $0.06 to $0.18 per stock or ETF options contract you trade, with industry-low index options fees starting at $0.35 and margin rates as low as 3.95%.

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Those numbers may look small, but when someone is starting with $1,300, keeping more money working in the account can matter. Of course, lower trading costs don't make a bad trade good, which brings the discussion back to position sizing.

A $100 loss would erase about 7.7% of a $1,300 account. That's why several commenters cautioned against putting a large percentage of the portfolio into a single trade.

Starting Small Means Thinking Small – At First

Not everyone was optimistic. The most popular response joked, "Use that $1,300 to fund a vacation. At least you'll enjoy it before it's gone." Another investor thought traders would be better off building their account into five figures first.

But others saw starting with $1,300 differently.

"Yes, it is possible," one trader wrote. "But your goals need to be realistic with that amount of capital."

Their biggest recommendation was education and practice. "Don't use real money until you truly understand yourself and what you're trading. Lots of beginners skip this step because they're impatient."

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One commenter even claimed that they grew their account from $1,000 to $20,000 in a few days. That's certainly not a realistic benchmark for a beginner, and chasing that kind of return could result in taking enormous risks.

A better goal may be much less exciting: learn the mechanics, keep positions manageable and give yourself time to improve.

Having $1,300 doesn't automatically disqualify someone from options trading. It simply means $1,300 should be treated like $1,300, not like the seed of an overnight fortune. Starting small can offer a chance to learn how options behave with real money on the line without beginning with a much larger amount at risk.

Image: Shutterstock

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Qnetic

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EquityMultiple

For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.

FarmTogether

Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors,FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.

Fundrise

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This article I Only Have $1,300 but Want to Start Making Money With Options. Am I Being Realistic or Setting Myself Up to Lose It? originally appeared on Benzinga.com