🧾 Weekly RUMble Update: The Market Dropped. I Didn’t.

by Ryan Rush | Jun 20, 2025 | FIRE Engine

It’s been a full week in the RUMble Engine, and while the stock price took a dip, my confidence didn’t move an inch.

Let’s break it down.

📉 RUM Dropped This Week — Good.

RUM started the week up around $8.92, and slowly dropped throughout, closing Friday at around $8.60.

Most people would see red and freak out.
I saw green — opportunity green — and bought 5 more shares at $8.61, bringing my total to 239.393038 shares.

I didn’t do anything fancy. I didn’t overthink it.
The price dipped, so I bought more. That’s the whole play.

💸 I Still Have Two Covered Calls Working

Here’s what’s still running on my board:

• 1x $9 Call expiring July 18th — this one’s paying me while Theta eats it alive
• 1x $8 Call expiring October 17th — a longer-term income builder

Both were sold earlier for upfront premium. And even with the price drop this week, they’re doing exactly what I want them to do.

🧠 Let Me Explain Why I’m Not Worried

People ask, “Aren’t you losing money if the stock drops?”

Nope. Because I don’t just own the stock — I run a machine that gets paid whether the price goes up, down, or sideways.

And the real reason I’m able to stay calm is thanks to one of the Greeks — Theta.

🧪 Quick Greek Lesson (Keep This Simple)

Options contracts are affected by things called “The Greeks.” Here’s the only one you need to care about this week:

Theta = Time Decay

Every day that passes, my open call contracts lose value simply because time is ticking. I already got paid when I sold them — so that decay is profit for me.

This week:

• My $9 call dropped from $0.85 to $0.68
• I’m over 60% profitable on it now — even though the stock dropped!

That’s Theta.
That’s the machine.

📊 Weekly Recap

• 📉 RUM dropped from $8.92 → $8.60
• 🛒 I bought more shares at $8.61
• 📈 Share total: 239.393038
• 🧾 Options active: $9 (Jul 18), $8 (Oct 17)
• 💸 Premiums already collected: $365
• 📉 Current cost basis (adjusted): ~$6.34/share
• 🔋 Cash on hand: $0 — I deploy everything into share growth
• 🧠 Emotional reaction: None

🔮 What’s Next?

• I’m watching that $9 call — if it dips near $0.30, I may close it early and reload for more premium.
• The $8 October call stays untouched for now — it’s got plenty of time left to burn down.
• I’ll keep adding shares on red days and selling calls on green ones.
• And I’ll keep letting Theta do the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

🏁 Final Word:

I’m not trading. I’m operating.

The RUMble machine doesn’t care about short-term dips.
It cares about premium, patience, and stacking shares until this machine pays me $1,000 a week.

And this week?
✅ Bought low
✅ Collected Theta
✅ Let it ride

Stick around. I’ll post the next checkpoint after the weekend.
The snowball’s rolling, and it’s just getting started.

🎁 Wanna Start Building Your Own RUMble Machine?

Grow wealth. Stack shares. Collect premium.
And hey — grab some FREE STOCKS and FREE MONEY while you’re at it.

I use Robinhood to run this machine, and if you’re curious or ready to build your own:

👉 Start your own account here — you’ll get free stocks just for signing up.
join.robinhood.com/ryanr886

No pressure — but if you’re gonna play the game, you might as well start with a little house money.

🧯 Make Your Own Machine Part 6: What Happens If My Shares Get Called Away?

by Ryan Rush | Jun 20, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🧯 Make Your Own Machine Part 6: What Happens If My Shares Get Called Away?

So you’ve sold your first covered call. You collected a nice premium. Life is good.

But then — boom 💥 — the stock price jumps and you see a notification:

“Your option was exercised.”

Cue the panic: “Wait, did I just lose my shares?!”

Yep… but hold up. That’s not a bad thing.

🧠 What Does It Actually Mean to Get “Called Away”?

When you sell a covered call, you’re making a deal:

“If this stock hits $X by Friday, I’ll sell it to you at that price.”

If the stock stays below that price? Nothing happens. You keep your shares and the premium.

If the stock goes above that price? The buyer can exercise the option. That means:

• You sell your shares at the agreed price (called the strike)
• You still keep the premium you got up front

This is called having your shares called away — and it’s part of the game.

💰 Clean Example

Let’s say:

• You own 100 shares of RUM at $7.50
• You sell a $9 call and collect $15
• RUM closes at $9.20 by expiration

Here’s what happens:

• Your shares are sold at $9 = $1.50 profit per share = $150
• You keep the $15 premium

Total profit: $165
(22% gain on a $750 investment — in one week.)

😬 But What If I Didn’t Want to Sell?

Totally fair.

If you’re trying to build a long-term position — say, stacking up to 200+ shares like I am — you might prefer to keepyour shares.

So here’s the good news:

🔄 You Can Avoid Assignment (Sometimes)

If it looks like the stock is going to hit your strike price, you don’t have to just sit there and let it happen.

You can roll the call — which means:

• Buying it back early
• Selling a new one at a later date or higher strike

That’s called rolling a covered call.

We’ll go deeper into how to do that in a future post — for now, just know:

• You’re not locked in
• You can adjust your position if you want to hold your shares

🔁 What I Do When It Happens

If I get assigned (shares called away), here’s my move:

1. Celebrate the win — I made premium and capital gains.
2. Watch for a dip — and buy back in when the price is right.
3. Keep the engine running — sell a new call once I’m back in.

No panic. No drama. Just rinse and repeat.

This strategy works because you’re not chasing the market — you’re managing it.

🧠 Bottom Line

Getting called away isn’t a loss — it’s part of the plan.
You either keep your shares and your premium, or you sell your shares and still get paid.

And if you want to avoid it next time? Rolling gives you options — literally.

We’ll cover that soon.

👉 Up Next: [Post 7: Why I Chose RUM (And What to Look for If You Pick Your Own)]
Want to see how I handle real trades like this? Check out the FIRE Engine blog.

💸 Make Your Own Machine Part 5: How Covered Calls Actually Make You Money (with Real Numbers)

by Ryan Rush | Jun 18, 2025 | FIRE Engine

💸 Make Your Own Machine Part 5: How Covered Calls Actually Make You Money (with Real Numbers)

Now that you know what a covered call is (aka renting out your stock like a boss), it’s time to break down what this looks like in real life — and more importantly…

How much money are we actually talking about here?

Spoiler: It’s not thousands overnight. But it’s steady. Predictable. And it snowballs.

Let me show you exactly how.

🔢 Real Example: 100 Shares of RUM

Let’s say you own 100 shares of RUM (Rumble).

• You bought them at $7.50 each
• Total cost: $750

Now RUM is trading around $7.80, and you want to sell a covered call.

Here’s what you do:

1. You sell 1 call option (each call covers 100 shares)
2. You choose a strike price of $9, expiring next Friday
3. The option buyer pays you $15 upfront

That $15 is your premium — and it’s yours to keep no matter what happens.

📈 Scenario A: RUM Stays Below $9

• Let’s say RUM ends the week at $8.45.
• Your option expires worthless.
• You keep your 100 shares
• You keep the $15 premium

You made $15 in 7 days — just for owning the stock.

That’s a 2% return on your $750… in a week. Stack that over 52 weeks and you start seeing how this adds up.

💰 Scenario B: RUM Goes Above $9

Let’s say RUM shoots up to $9.50.

• Your shares get called away (someone buys them from you at $9)
• You make $1.50 per share in capital gains ($9 – $7.50 = $1.50)
• You also keep the $15 premium

Total profit:

• Capital gains = $150
• Premium = $15
• Total = $165

Not bad for a week, right?

🧠 Either Way: You Win

This is why I love this strategy. You’re not trying to guess the market. You’re getting paid to wait. If the stock runs? You still win.

🪜 Stack and Snowball

Here’s where it gets fun:

• Take that $15
• Reinvest it over and over
• Every time you hit 100 shares, you unlock another covered call

Eventually, instead of 1 contract a week, you’re selling 2… then 3… then 5.

And that, my friend, is the FIRE Engine.

🧠 Bottom Line

Covered calls make you money whether your stock goes up, down, or sideways — as long as you stick to the plan.

Next time, we’ll talk about what happens if your shares get called away… and why it’s not the end of the world (in fact, sometimes it’s exactly what you want).

👉 Up Next: [Post 6: What Happens If My Shares Get Called Away?]
New here? Start at the beginning of the FIRE Engine series.

💰 Make Your Own Machine Part 4: What Is a Covered Call? (Plain English Edition)

by Ryan Rush | Jun 16, 2025 | FIRE Engine

💰 Make Your Own Machine Part 4: What Is a Covered Call? (Plain English Edition)

Alright, now we’re getting to the good stuff.

You’ve got a brokerage account. You’ve bought your first stock (maybe even RUM). You’re feeling like a grown-up investor.

Now it’s time to do something that most investors never do:

Make money from your stock every single week — without selling it.

Welcome to the magical world of covered calls.

🛠️ So What’s a Covered Call?

Here’s the simplest version:

A covered call is when you “rent out” your stock to someone else, and they pay you for the privilege.

You’re not giving up your shares (unless they hit a certain price), and you get paid just for agreeing to sell them if that happens.

It’s like this:

“Hey, I’ll let you maybe buy my stock from me for $10 next week — but only if it hits that price. Pay me $15 upfront just for the option.”

If the stock never hits $10? You keep your shares and the $15.

If it does? You sell it for $10 and still keep the $15.

Either way, you win.

🧀 Real-World Analogy: Cheese and Rent

Imagine you own a block of cheese (just go with it).

Your neighbor says:

“Hey, I might want to buy your cheese next Friday for $10. But I’m not sure yet. Here’s $1 just for the option.”

• If cheese never hits $10, you keep it — plus the dollar.
• If cheese shoots to $12, he can buy it from you for $10 — but you still keep the dollar.

That $1 is your premium. That’s the covered call income.

Now replace “cheese” with RUM stock and boom — that’s what we’re doing.

🧠 Why It’s Called a “Covered Call”

Let’s break it down:

• Call option = a contract giving someone the option (not obligation) to buy your shares at a set price.
• Covered = you already own the shares you’re selling the option on.

It’s safe. It’s conservative. It’s not some naked YOLO gamble. You’re the landlord, not the tenant.

💸 Why This Is Awesome

Here’s what makes covered calls perfect for normal people like you and me:

• You get paid weekly or monthly, even if the stock doesn’t move.
• You reduce your cost basis (you’re getting paid back over time).
• You can reinvest the premium to buy more shares.
• You’re not betting — you’re managing risk and building ownership.

This is the heart of the FIRE Engine — we’re stacking shares and making weekly income to grow our position over time.

🧮 Example: Let’s Say You Own 100 Shares of RUM

• RUM is trading at $7.80.
• You sell a $9 call that expires next Friday.
• You get $15 in premium up front.

What happens next?

Either way, that $15 is yours no matter what.

🧠 Bottom Line

A covered call lets you rent out your stock for weekly income.
You’re not day-trading. You’re not gambling.
You’re building a passive income engine — one share, one premium at a time.

👉 Up Next: [Post 5: How Covered Calls Actually Make You Money (with Real Numbers)]
Want to see this strategy in action? Check out my weekly FIRE Engine updates.