🏦 Make Your Own Machine Part 2: What’s a Brokerage (and How Do I Pick One?)

by Ryan Rush | Jun 11, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🏦 Make Your Own Machine Part 2: What’s a Brokerage (and How Do I Pick One?)

Alright, so now you know what a stock is. You’re not buying magic beans — you’re buying a slice of a real business.

But here’s the next question:

“Where do I actually buy stocks? Can I just Venmo Elon Musk or something?”

Not quite. You need a brokerage account — and don’t worry, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds.

🧰 What’s a Brokerage?

A brokerage is just a platform that lets you buy and sell stocks.

Think of it like an online vending machine for investing:

• You put money in
• You tap what you want (like a share of RUM)
• Boom — it’s yours

The brokerage handles all the behind-the-scenes stuff with the stock market. You just click buttons.

🤔 Which One Should I Use?

You’ve got options. A few popular names:

• Robinhood – Super beginner-friendly, no commissions, great mobile app
• Fidelity – More advanced tools, trusted name, solid customer service
• Charles Schwab – Also beginner-friendly, more traditional
• Webull – Great for data nerds, but a little more complex for new users

✅ My Pick: Robinhood

If you’re following my FIRE Engine strategy, I recommend starting with Robinhood for a few reasons:

• It’s dead simple to use
• You can sell covered calls directly in the app
• You get a free stock when you sign up with my link

🎁 https://join.robinhood.com/ryanr886

It’s what I use, and I’ll be walking through screenshots and examples using it throughout this series. So unless you already have a favorite, just start here and keep it easy.

📋 What You’ll Need to Open an Account

You’ll need:

• Your full name, date of birth, and address
• Your Social Security Number (required for tax purposes — it’s legit)
• A U.S. bank account to link for deposits

It usually takes 5–10 minutes to set up, and you can get approved the same day.

🚀 Want to Start Now?

You can sign up here:
🎁 Open your Robinhood account and get a free stock

Once you’re in, you’ll want to connect your bank and deposit something small — even just $20 to get started. Don’t overthink it. Just get your foot in the door.

🧠 Bottom Line

A brokerage is just the tool that lets you buy stocks.
I use Robinhood because it’s easy, free, and works great for covered calls.

In the next post, I’ll show you how to actually buy your first stock (without messing it up or accidentally buying 1,000 shares of Dogecoin).

👉 Up Next: [Post 3: How to Buy a Stock (Without Screwing It Up)]
Want to see this strategy in action? Check out the original FIRE Engine blog.

🔧 Make Your Own Machine: Part 1: What Even Is a Stock?

by Ryan Rush | Jun 9, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🔧 Make Your Own Machine: Part 1: What Even Is a Stock?

Let’s start at the very beginning. You’ve heard people say “I bought some stock,” and maybe you nodded like you knew what they meant… but deep down you were thinking:

“Is that like buying a piece of paper? Or betting on something? Or just a grown-up version of Monopoly?”

Here’s the truth:

📈 A Stock Is a Slice of a Real Company

When you buy a stock, you’re literally buying a piece of a real business. Not a lottery ticket. Not a crypto token. A business.

• Buy one share of Rumble? You own a tiny sliver of the actual Rumble company.
• They make money? You (kind of) benefit.
• They go bankrupt? Well… you’re going down with the ship.

It’s ownership, plain and simple.

🥩 Imagine It Like a Steakhouse

Let’s say your buddy owns a steakhouse. He wants to grow, so he offers you the chance to buy a slice of it.

If you do:

• You now own part of the steakhouse.
• If business is good, your slice is worth more.
• If it tanks, your slice gets you some sad leftover sirloin and a paper napkin.

That’s what buying stock is — but instead of a steakhouse, it’s companies like Rumble, Apple, or some sketchy biotech firm promising to cure aging with seaweed (don’t do it).

💡 So Why Do People Buy Stocks?

Because good companies tend to grow over time.

If you buy shares in a strong business:

• The share price can go up (you make money if you sell higher than you bought).
• Some companies pay dividends (tiny payouts just for holding the stock).
• And if you’re like me, you can sell options on your shares to make even more income (we’ll get to that).

🧠 Bottom Line

Buying stock = buying a piece of a business.
Not a gamble. Not a get-rich-quick trick.
You’re investing in something real.

That’s Step 1. In the next post, we’ll talk about how to actually buy a stock You don’t need a fancy suit or a Wall Street advisor. You just need a free app like Robinhood (I’ll even give you a link for a free stock in a sec).

And eventually, I’ll show you how to make money on your stock every single week, even if the price doesn’t move.

Want to add your own personal line here, like “This is the same thing I explained to my buddy last month,” or should I just keep the clean instructional tone moving forward?

👉 Up Next: [Post 2: What’s a Brokerage (and How Do I Pick One)?]
Ready to dip your toes in?
Sign up for Robinhood with my link and we’ll both pick a free stock:
🎁 https://join.robinhood.com/ryanr886

No pressure — but free is free. And I’ll walk you through the setup in the next post.

I’ll walk you through how to set it up in the next post.

🔥 RUMble #1: Starting the Engine

by Ryan Rush | Jun 7, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🔥 RUMble #1: Starting the Engine

Alright, let’s light this thing up.

This is the first official entry in my FIRE Engine journey — where I document every trade, premium, mistake, and milestone as I try to build a passive income machine one covered call at a time.

If you read the pinned post, you know what this is about. If not: I’m trying to replace my work income by stacking premium cash on a stock I already own.

No fluff. No hype. Just RUM, sweat, and slow gains.

📦 My Current Position

• 225.73 shares of $RUM
• Price at time of post: $9.19
• Goal: Get to 300 shares, then 400, and so on
• Selling covered calls 1 contract at a time (for now)

🧾 Options Sold This Week

✅ 1x $RUM 7/18 $9 Call — Sold for $0.95

This was a covered call against 100 of my shares. If RUM is over $9 by July 18th, I might get assigned and sell those shares at $9 — but I still keep the $95 premium either way.

✅ 1x $RUM 10/17 $8 Call — Sold for $2.13

I sold this one slightly in the money against another 100 shares to generate a big up-front premium. That’s $213 in my account now. If it gets called away, I’ll be okay with it. That’s the deal — you trade some upside for guaranteed income.

Total Premium Collected This Week:

💰 $308 ($95 + $213)

🔁 Reinvesting the Premium

With $308 in hand, I’m already eyeing more $RUM shares. At $9.19/share, that’s another 33 shares soon to be added to the machine.

That gets me closer to 300 shares — which means three contracts — which means more premium — which means more compounding.

This is the part most people skip: don’t spend it. Stack it.

🎯 This Week’s Takeaway

This was a big week — the engine is officially running, and the wheels are turning. I’m now making weekly income from a stock I already owned, and honestly, that’s kind of wild.

But let me be real with you…

I had to roll both of these contracts way out—one into July, the other all the way into October.

Why? Because two weeks ago, $RUM had a surprise spike and I was sitting on covered calls that were about to get exercised early. I didn’t want to give up my shares just yet, so I rolled the contracts out farther to keep the shares and still lock in premium.

That’s part of the game. Sometimes you give up upside for stability. Sometimes you delay income to keep the machine intact.

⚠️ Heads up: Next week might be quiet.

Since I’ve already sold two contracts weeks in advance, I may not be making much next week. That’s the trade-off for adjusting mid-move. But I’ll break all that down as it happens so we can learn this thing together — the wins and the messes.

Because let’s be honest: no one learns from the perfect trades. We learn from the scrappy ones that make us think, “Okay, how do I handle this better next time?”

🎁 Want to Start Yours?

If you want to try the FIRE Engine strategy yourself, I use Robinhood to run mine. It’s clean, simple, and lets you sell covered calls without all the nonsense.

Sign up with my link and we’ll both get a free stock to fuel the machine:
👉 https://join.robinhood.com/ryanr886

🧯 See you next Friday for RUMble #2.

Let’s see what this engine can really do.