Obligatory awkward first post

Hello world, etc. :)

This blog is kind of an experiment. There are no 5-year plans for its growth development, no specific goals or anything of the kind. For now, its main purpose is to be a token blog where I can link to other blogs' giveaways in order to maximize my chances of winning. ;) Over time, I might develop it further, with some commentary on stock market, personal finance, and all that other fun stuff. With any luck, it will turn into a helpful resource of sorts. Even in the worst-case scenario, it will be a pretty good collection of links to online giveaways, so make sure to stop by every now and then and see what's new.

I guess this is the part where I have to write something about myself. (I was never a big fan of introductions.) I'm a Siberian entrepreneur who ended up living in the Nevada desert. (It's a long story.) I graduated from the University of Nevada just before the Second Depression Great Recession, didn't find any jobs for my political science degree, and ended up with a blue-collar job at a local warehouse. Considering that Nevada has the highest unemployment level in the country, I'd say I did fairly well. It's not exactly what I dreamed of doing when I was little, but hey - a job is a job is a job. When I'm not working 60 hours a week (overtime is such a beautiful concept), I look for new ways to make money. Over the past seven years, I've tried taking advantage of poorly organized raffles, card-counting, interpreting, day-trading, investing, abusing casino promotions (there are plenty of those in Nevada), as well as selling stamps, coins, comic books, regular books, Kindle books, Nintendo Wii's, PS-3's, stuffed animals, other collectibles, and so on...

That's not a complete list - just the stuff I could think of off the top of my head. I've been called a shameless opportunist and ruthless capitalist more times than I care to count, and I don't mind that. :) If anything, I consider it a compliment. Why do I do all that? Because I can. Life is a game, and the size of your bank account is a good way of keeping score. Money can buy happiness. It can also help you retire early. I'm 24 years old and I highly doubt that Social Security will still be around in 40 years. Even in the best-case scenario, the eligibility age will probably be pushed to 70 or higher. I may have 55 good years ahead of me, but I'd rather not spend 50 of them working a full-time job. Every extra dollar I make, every dime I save, every profitable stock trade brings me a bit closer to my dream of early retirement, but that's a topic for another day...