Most traders prefer to buy option premium rather than collect it, because long options offer quantified risk. Fortunately, certain strategies let you hedge short-option risk by selling short-term options and buying longer-term ones as protection. The double diagonal spread is a flexible spread that lets you exploit time decay without risking unlimited losses.

The following analysis tracks a double diagonal spread in the S&P 500 futures that begins as a debit spread. However, it becomes a credit spread as the trade collects more premium.