🏁 Make Your Own Machine Part 15: How This Strategy Fits Into the Bigger Picture

by | Jul 11, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🏁 Make Your Own Machine Part 15: How This Strategy Fits Into the Bigger Picture

(FIRE, Freedom & Building a Life That Doesn’t Need Babysitting)

You made it.

You learned how to:

  • Buy your first stock
  • Sell your first covered call
  • Avoid getting called away (or roll when needed)
  • Reinvest your premium to build faster
  • Handle the doubters
  • And automate the whole thing

You’ve officially built a working FIRE Engine.

But let’s zoom out for a second.

Because this isn’t just about stacking $15 a week.

This is about stacking freedom.

🔥 What FIRE Actually Means

FIRE = Financial Independence, Retire Early
But it’s not just about quitting your job and sipping cocktails in a hammock.

It’s about:

  • Having choices
  • Owning your time
  • Saying no to things you used to say yes to out of financial fear

It’s about not needing to ask permission — because you’ve built something that works while you sleep.

🧠 Why Covered Calls Fit So Well

Most people chase financial freedom through:

  • Endless side hustles
  • High-stress trading
  • Big risky bets
  • Or “just hope the market goes up”

This strategy says:

“No thanks. I’ll take boring, repeatable, and cash-flow positive.”

It turns ownership into income, and income into options.

Not flashy. Not complicated.
Just quietly stacking wealth behind the scenes.

🧱 Brick by Brick

The FIRE Engine strategy is about:

  • Discipline
  • Patience
  • Understanding that slow isn’t weak — it’s powerful

You’re not trying to win in a week.
You’re building a system that wins for decades.

Every call sold is a brick.
Every dollar reinvested is a gear.
Every week you stick with it is another step toward freedom.

🚫 No Babysitter Needed

Once it’s built, this machine doesn’t need:

  • A fund manager
  • A financial advisor
  • Or a babysitter

Just you, your rhythm, and the willingness to stay the course.

🧠 Bottom Line

This isn’t just a strategy — it’s a mindset.
You’re not chasing hype. You’re building freedom.
One share, one week, one call at a time.

🎉 You Did It.

You went from knowing nothing about stocks…
To running a cash-generating machine that puts money in your pocket while you’re living your life.

That’s what the FIRE Engine is all about.

Want to keep learning?
I post my real trades and premium stacking progress every week:
👉 Check out the FIRE Engine blog here.

Got a friend who wants to learn?
Send them to Post 1 — we’ll take it from there.

Stay steady. Stay boring. Stay free.

Your FIRE Engine’s running now.
Just keep feeding it fuel.

What Would Government Look Like Today If We Actually Followed the Founding Principles?

by | Jul 9, 2025 | Field Notes, The Outlaw Files

What Would Government Look Like Today If We Actually Followed the Founding Principles?

Imagine waking up tomorrow in a country that operates exactly as the Founders intended.

The federal government would be almost unrecognizable to us today. Not because it would be futuristic, but because it would be far smaller.

First: Taxes.

Under the Constitution’s original intent, federal taxation was minimal and indirect. Before the 16th Amendment (1913), there was no income tax. The government operated mainly on:

  • Tariffs (taxes on imports)
  • Excise taxes (taxes on specific goods like whiskey)
  • Apportioned direct taxes only during emergencies

James Madison wrote in Federalist 45 that the federal government’s powers are “few and defined,” while state powers are “numerous and indefinite.” The idea of an annual seizure of a portion of every citizen’s income would have been abhorrent.

The Founders feared direct taxation because it places the federal government between a man and his labor, creating dependency, surveillance, and control.

Second: Welfare.

What about Social Security, food stamps, and disability programs?

They wouldn’t exist federally.

The Founders designed a nation where welfare was local. Neighbors, churches, private charities, and state governments cared for the poor. Benjamin Franklin warned that formalized government welfare encourages idleness and strips away dignity:

“I am for doing good to the poor, but…I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”

In other words, the focus was personal responsibility, community charity, and state-level solutions. A federal welfare system not only goes beyond enumerated powers but also creates national dependency on Washington rather than local relationships.

Third: The Power of the “Evil 1%.”

Today, many blame “that evil 1% of the rich” for keeping the poor in poverty. And while there are certainly corrupt elites who manipulate systems to their advantage, the Founders’ model actually stripped them of such power.

Here’s why:

  • ✅ No centralized redistribution system to lobby.
    If the federal government isn’t collecting and redistributing trillions, billionaires can’t buy influence over those funds.
  • ✅ Wealth is decentralized.
    With minimal federal taxation, wealth stays in communities. Local economies thrive because people spend, build, and invest locally instead of sending their income to D.C.
  • ✅ Charity is personal.
    If welfare is handled by churches, charities, and states, the “1%” cannot control it for public image or policy manipulation. Giving becomes relational, not transactional.
  • ✅ Opportunity expands.
    When the government is not picking winners and losers through subsidies, tax loopholes, or regulatory hurdles designed by elite lobbyists, every citizen competes on more equal footing.

So what does this mean practically?

  • ✅ Your paycheck: You would keep nearly all of it, aside from sales taxes, tariffs built into goods, or minimal excise taxes.
  • ✅ Charity and welfare: Churches, synagogues, private organizations, family, and state programs would fill the gap, with the understanding that the moral duty to care for the poor is yours and your community’s, not Washington’s.
  • ✅ Federal government: It would be primarily responsible for national defense, foreign policy, and maintaining order among the states – not managing healthcare, schools, and retirement plans.
  • ✅ The “1%”: They would hold wealth, yes, but without centralized power structures, their ability to influence your daily life would be drastically reduced.

But would this work today?

Critics argue that such a system leaves the poor unprotected. But defenders counter that centralized welfare creates permanent poverty classes and strips away accountability, while local and faith-based systems offer help with dignity, moral guidance, and incentive to improve one’s life.

Ultimately, the Founders’ model assumed a virtuous and engaged citizenry who understood that freedom without responsibility quickly becomes chaos – but government redistribution without virtue leads to tyranny.

Invitation to Think

Imagine America if we returned to that model.

Would we be poorer, or would we be wealthier in freedom, dignity, and responsibility – no matter how rich the “1%” becomes?

🔥 How to Retire Starting with Just $1,000 (Using a Coffee a Day Machine Strategy)

by | Jul 9, 2025 | FIRE Engine, Misc

🔥 How to Retire Starting with Just $1,000 (Using a Coffee a Day Machine Strategy)

Let’s be real for a minute.

Most people think retiring takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, risky day trades, or striking it big with crypto.

That’s nonsense.

Here’s what’s actually true:

  • ✅ You can start with just $1,000
  • ✅ You can earn a conservative 1.5% per week (not moonshot options gambles, just boring consistent premiums)
  • ✅ You can reinvest every penny back into your machine

But let’s remove the fantasy compounding and show what really happens with covered calls.

⚙️ Here’s How It Breaks Down – Real Machine Math

💡 Starting Point

  • $1,000 starting balance
  • Stock at $10/share = 100 shares = 1 contract

💡 Weekly Premiums

  • You earn ~$15/week (1.5% of $1,000)

🔢 When Do You Double?

Unlike pure compounding (where your money doubles in ~48 weeks if reinvested fractionally), in covered calls:

  • ✅ You only earn premiums on full contract blocks (100 shares).
  • ✅ You stack premiums as cash until you can buy another 100 shares. Then your income doubles.

⚠️ Example Without Contributions

Weeks Stack Contracts Weekly Income
0 $0 1 $15
67 ~$1,000 2 $30

➡️ It takes ~67 weeks (about 1 year and 3 months) to double income from premiums alone, assuming no price changes or contributions.

☕️ Now What Happens If You Add Just Coffee Money?

✅ $5/day = $25/week extra added.

Now your stack builds like this:

  • Weekly build: $15 premium + $25 contribution = $40/week growth

✅ Time to your next $1,000 (second contract):

  • $1,000 ÷ $40/week ≈ 25 weeks (~6 months)

🚀 Here’s How That Compounds in Real Machine Steps

💡 6 months in:

  • You now have 2 contracts earning $30/week.

💡 Next contract (3rd):

  • Weekly build: $30 premium + $25 contribution = $55/week
  • $1,000 ÷ $55/week ≈ 18 weeks (~4.5 months)

💡 Next contract (4th):

  • Weekly build: $45 premium + $25 = $70/week
  • $1,000 ÷ $70/week ≈ 14 weeks (~3.5 months)

💡 Next contract (5th):

  • Weekly build: $60 premium + $25 = $85/week
  • $1,000 ÷ $85/week ≈ 12 weeks (~3 months)

⚙️ Stacking Summary

  • ✔ Month 0: 1 contract ($15/week)
  • ✔ Month 6: 2 contracts ($30/week)
  • ✔ Month 10.5: 3 contracts ($45/week)
  • ✔ Month 14: 4 contracts ($60/week)
  • ✔ Month 17: 5 contracts ($75/week)
  • ✔ Month 20: 6 contracts ($90/week)
  • ✔ Month 22.5: 7 contracts ($105/week)
  • ✔ Month 24.5: 8 contracts ($120/week)

🔥 At The End of 2 Years

✅ You’re earning ~$120/week x 4 = ~$480/month purely from premiums.

✅ Your snowball is moving faster every month as each new contract accelerates stacking toward the next.

⚠️ Real Operator Reality Check

✅ 2 years in, you’re not at full retirement income yet – but your machine is a fast-rolling snowball.

✅ By year 4-5, with this acceleration, you’re pushing $400-$500/week ($1,600-$2,000/month).

And this is without risky bets or moonshot trades – just:

  • ✔ Covered calls
  • ✔ Steady reinvestment
  • ✔ Small daily contributions (your “coffee money”)

🚀 The Bottom Line

✅ You don’t need a lot to start.

✅ You don’t need risky bets.

✅ You need a machine that compounds in real operational steps, not fantasy finance charts.

If you can:

  • Earn 1.5% per week (conservative)
  • Reinvest every premium
  • Add just “a coffee a day”

You will build retirement-level income in a few short years, with each week accelerating the climb.

That’s not a dream. That’s disciplined, practical math – and math doesn’t care about your feelings. It just works.

⚙️ Your Next Move

✅ Start building your machine.

✅ Stay consistent.

✅ Watch your snowball grow from coffee money to freedom money.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about how much you start with – it’s about how relentlessly you grow it.

👉 Want to Dive Deeper Into How I Run This Machine?

I wrote a full breakdown for beginners on my blog. Check it out here:

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

🎁 Ready to Start Building Right Now?

Grow wealth. Stack shares. Collect premium. And hey – grab some free stocks and free money while you’re at it.

👉 Start your own Robinhood account here.

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 14: How to Automate the FIRE Engine

by | Jul 9, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🤖 Post 14: How to Automate the FIRE Engine

(So You’re Not Babysitting It All Week)

Let’s be honest:

You didn’t start this strategy because you wanted another job.
You started it because you wanted freedom. Passive income. Simplicity.

So here’s the good news:

The FIRE Engine doesn’t need to be micromanaged.
You can automate 90% of it with a few simple habits.

Let’s break it down.

🗓️ Step 1: Set a Weekly Check-In Time

Pick one day a week to do your FIRE Engine maintenance.

  • I use Friday mornings (before options expire)
  • You could use Thursday nights, or Monday openings — whatever works for your rhythm

Put it on your calendar as:

🔧 FIRE Engine Check-In – 15 Minutes

You’ll use this time to:

  • Check if your current call is in-the-money
  • Decide whether to let it ride, close it, or roll it
  • Sell your next contract if the last one expired

That’s it. Fifteen minutes a week. Done.

📈 Step 2: Use Reminders or Automations

You can set this up however you want:

  • Google Calendar reminder
  • Phone alarm
  • Sticky note on your monitor
  • Weekly task in your to-do app

The key is to make it part of your routine — like brushing your teeth, but more profitable.

🔁 Step 3: Create a Rolling Rule of Thumb

Rolling decisions can stress people out — but they don’t have to.

Here’s a super simple rule I use:

“If the stock is close to my strike on Thursday or Friday, I look to roll. If not, I let it expire and sell a new one.”

Easy.

No panic. No emotion. No overthinking.
Just stick to the plan.

📝 Step 4: Use a Tracker (That Doesn’t Suck)

If you’ve been following along since Post 10, you know I track:

  • Premiums earned
  • Contracts sold
  • Share count
  • ROI over time

This helps me know:

  • When to scale up
  • What’s working
  • And how much I’m actually earning

Use my template or build your own — just make sure it doesn’t become spreadsheet jail.

🧠 Why This Works

People fail at covered calls not because the strategy is hard…
…but because they treat it like a guessing game instead of a rhythm.

When you:

  • Set a weekly check-in
  • Follow a repeatable system
  • Avoid emotional trades

You take 90% of the stress out of it — and leave 100% of the profit in.

🧠 Bottom Line

Covered calls shouldn’t take over your life.
Build a weekly rhythm. Automate what you can.
Let the FIRE Engine do the heavy lifting.

You’re not a trader.
You’re a builder.

👉 Up Next: [Post 15: How This Strategy Fits Into the Bigger Picture (FIRE, Freedom & Long-Term Wealth)]
Want to see what my weekly check-ins look like? Follow the FIRE Engine blog.

🎤 Make Your Own Machine Part 13: How to Deal With Doubters (And Why Most People Stay Broke)

by | Jul 7, 2025 | FIRE Engine

🎤 Make Your Own Machine Part 13: How to Deal With Doubters (And Why Most People Stay Broke)

By now, you’ve:

  • Bought real stock
  • Collected real money
  • Rolled a few calls
  • Hit 200 shares or more

And now you’re feeling good. Confident. Capable.

Then someone comes along and hits you with the classic:

“Wait… you’re doing what now? That sounds risky.”
“I don’t know, man, I’d rather just put my money in an index fund.”
“You should talk to my cousin, he does crypto day trading.”

Listen closely:

You’re going to sound crazy to people who don’t understand slow, boring wealth.

And that’s okay.

🤡 Why Most People Stay Broke

Let’s be real — most people:

  • Chase hype
  • Don’t understand risk
  • Only talk about gains (never losses)
  • Spend everything they earn
  • Avoid anything that takes more than 5 minutes to explain

Covered calls?
Cash-secured puts?
Reinvesting premiums week after week?

That’s not sexy. That’s not flashy.

It’s just… profitable.

But since it doesn’t come with neon charts and adrenaline, they’ll never get it.

😎 What You’re Doing Is Rare

  • You’re stacking slow gains
  • You’re avoiding dumb trades
  • You’re reinvesting instead of spending
  • You’re turning ownership into income

Most people buy a stock, pray it goes up, and call it investing.
You? You’re running a system.

That’s why they won’t understand.
And that’s why you’ll eventually outpace them.

🧠 How to Handle the Doubters

  1. Smile and nod.
    You don’t need to convince them. Just keep stacking.
  2. Track your progress.
    Show yourself that it’s working. That’s all the proof you need.
  3. Know your why.
    You’re not doing this to impress strangers — you’re doing it to build freedom.
  4. Stay boring.
    The FIRE Engine isn’t supposed to be exciting. It’s supposed to work.

Let them chase hype. Let them trade options they don’t understand.
Let them roll their eyes while you roll your contracts.

🧠 Bottom Line

Boring wealth beats flashy failure. Every time.

The FIRE Engine is simple. Consistent. Predictable.
That’s exactly why most people ignore it…
…and exactly why it works.

In the next post, we’ll talk about how to automate your system so this strategy doesn’t become a second job.

👉 Up Next: [Post 14: How to Automate the FIRE Engine (So You’re Not Babysitting It All Week)]
Want to see boring wealth in action? Check out the FIRE Engine blog.