I do hope wollsmoth reads that before continuing to provide his thoughts on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to inform those who may not be aware & I don't disagree with anything you wrote.
yeah, I mostly know about puts and calls. I read around, you can borrow shares but the interest rate can be a little crazy so I'm not sure it's a better long term strategy than just getting/creating options contracts every n months.
You're definitely going to pay for the risk one way or another.
Over simplified, otherwise it's too complex for this explanation, if you're trading please don't use my explanation -
Buying either cash-secured Puts or Calls are not subject to margin-calls like shorts/long shares are.
So if the price goes up too high before it comes crashing down, your broker might force you to liquidate your position, leaving you with max loses, and no profit from the following crash.
Because puts or calls do not rely on margin and you get to choose if you execute them, so they are more resistant to massive spikes in either direction.
tldr - Purchased options are not subject to margin calls like shorts
edit: removed mentions of selling options and IV - they're too complex for this quick explanation
You're definitely going to pay for the risk one way or another.