What would I do if I got 1000 Steem tomorrow?
To say that I am invested in this platform would be an understatement. It could be said that I have bet my livelihood on Steem. This is not wise and I don't recommend that others do it too, but I, against all advice I could receive, have been letting other opportunities go as I plunge into this deep sea filled with all kinds of maritime creatures.
However, there is still a big gap between my current earnings and the earnings that I would need to have if I were to make Steemit my only source of income in any country other than Venezuela. Here, I can live with 20-40 USD a month in a sort of comfortable way, including rent, food, internet, transportation and small random expenses. But in any other country, I would need between 300 and 600 USD a month just to live with slight comfort.
In the first month, I had been trying to make my Steem experience affordable, to be able to earn at least enough to live here in Venezuela, to feel that it was worthwhile. Now, I have accomplished this and much more through luck, effort and a lot of support from many people whom I hold dear in my heart. However, I am still earning less than 200 USD a month. Being far from it does not demotivate me. Instead, I feel the urge to keep working incessantly to upgrade my finances into international standards.
This is not easy, however, since I'm supposed to be leaving the country before July. So when Mr Dragos Roua asks me what I would do in the hypothetical situation where I got 1000 Steem in one day, my first thought is what others would do in my situation. I have a sustainable side earning and I still have some free time for a half-time job. What would any of my friends do? They, who are not on Steemit, would probably not value 1000 Steem as an investment.
They would jump at this chance, buy a plane ticket and leave the country at once. They'd use their savings to pay their rent while they look for a job and they would probably use it just in the way that we are expected to use money: save and spend. But for me, as I said, I have spent 4 months steadily building this account from nothing, from 15 SP delegation from Steemit into an account that is valued at over 400 Steem. I certainly know the potential of this little account, where I'm now earning more than 100 dollars a month with only 400 Steem, where I have friends, followers and communities where I'm valued.
Would I give up the chance to make this account grow and become even more affordable? I think that 1000 Steem would do wonders for my quest to earn enough to live in another country. And would they be better sitting in a bank account or being cycled through rent, food and a job that I don't enjoy? Or would they find their optimal place as the foundation for my account? I lean toward the second choice. If I got 1000 Steem tomorrow, I would not see it as an opportunity to run away. I would see it as an opportunity to cement the foundation on which my future would stand.
But let's not get excited so early. My computer is breaking down, I don't have a phone and have been trying to motivate myself to sell a few SBD to cover these needs. So let's first distribute 350 dollars to this cause. If I got 1000 Steem tomorrow, I would first use the equivalent of 200 USD to buy a slightly decent-ish used computer and a 150 USD phone. The rest, I would power up. Yup, I would sit on it and wait for it to grow.
But I can't let my hypothetical new SP stagnate. What would I do with it? SP is not the magical key of success.
So what would I do with my 900 remaining SP?
First, let us evaluate how useful it is. The thing I notice outright is that with my account, currently, 270 SP, my vote is 0.07. This is three times a Venezuelan minimum salary if I apply it once a day for a month. My university-graduated cousins (engineering) work for two or three times that amount. Most of my friends who are not on Steemit work for that exact amount or 25% more.
I am currently in the process of setting up Steem accounts for my family and friends in order to improve their livelihood. My vote, added to the @minnowsupport, @busy, @cervantes and other votes that I could round up for them, would probably double or triple their income outright. Just by coming into the site and posting once a day, I could multiply a few people's miserable salaries.
However, I can only do 10 full upvotes a day, and I already have a lot of people to whom I dedicate my autovotes.
So if I got 900 SP, it would probably mean that a miracle has come for all of those who stand around me. I would be able to give out, with just one vote a day, 13 minimum Venezuelan salaries. Take into account that most Venezuelans only earn 1 or 2 minimum salaries every month and that there are many who are dying from hunger. If I cut a 1200 SP vote in parts and distribute it among a few dozen people every day, you can imagine how much benefit that would bring.
This, in part, would be awesome for my image and I would probably bring more eyes and make my account grow just by giving. So I think that this would be the best outcome.
Oh, well, it's good to dream. I probably won't be getting 1000 Steem tomorrow. ;P But oh how sweet it is to dream.
This is post #2 for the 30-day writing challenge hosted by @dragosroua
Upvoted and resteemed. Interesting concept for a post that I haven't seen before, and I wish you the best of luck with your goal to leave Venezuela and start a new life elsewhere :)
Thank you, Louis, I'll be needing that luck! :)
I need to thank @dragosroua for the concept. He was the one that started the 30-day writing challenge and set the topic for this post. The subjects he sets are great to talk about, so I've been enjoying this during its short duration.
I'm also looking forward to the next topics. I saw some that were very funny and would be very nice to write about.
Thank you for coming by and for the giant support you've given me. :) <3
Great post. I know if I had 1000SP, the first thing I would probably do is delegate some of it back to the users and groups that have helped me get to where I am today on the platform. There are so many helpful people out there that I have met via Discord. @steemrepair would for sure get a delegation to help give back to the users that have helped me. A little bit of the rest I might rent out to help continue a sustainable income. The rest I would keep as SP to help my upvote be high enough to benefit others. Thanks for this great post!
I think that if I knew of a community that intends to help Venezuelans in need, I might delegate, but I don't know of anyone who makes efforts similar to the ones that I'm starting, so I would delegate to me?
But that would be just keeping my SP lol, or creating another account for my community and delegating to it in order to keep the community's upvotes untouched by my personal daily voting rounds.
I also think that I would try to give back, but I prefer the pass-it-forward method since I know that those who gave to me are not as much in need as others are around me.
Thank you for a great comment. <3
I have almost forgotten how helpful steem can be to people in developing countries. Am glad you're benefiting and I hope you get your family along too
Thank you :) And yeap, I'm bringing them all in!
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You can not do anything in your life without dreaming. Man has such a structure. There is no reason to live the day you leave your imagination. Let your dreams be impossible. If you do not make it real, set a new dream. But do not forget that one day your dreams will come true. I think it's important to know what do you want here. How can a person who can not realize that his dreams are fulfilled can be satisfied with life
Thank you for the thought, @sametatila. 100% agreed! Hope is the only thing that makes us go on, dreams, imagination and creativity.
Me gusta la forma que has avanzado en esta red, se nota que con esfuerzo has logrado un buen reconocimiento, pero lo que mas me llama la atencion es tus ganas de ayudar, apoyar a los tuyos mediante tu trabajo en esta red es genial, tienes un gran corazon y demuestra que los venezolanos tenemos mucho que dar, seria genial que recibieras esa cantidad de sp y que tu voto adquiera mucho mas valor, se que tomarias la mejor decision para ti y los tuyos, mucha suerte, te deseo una feliz tarde
:) A mí me pone muy feliz poder ayudar a las personas que solo necesitan un empujoncito para tener éxito. He visto a tantas personas súper capaces en estado de miseria que me llena de agonía el no poder hacer nada para ayudarlos.
Por eso he estado tratando de comenzar iniciativas para cambiar la situación de cuantas personas pueda con planes autosustentables. De esa manera puedo seguir haciéndolo en el futuro, crecer e ir ayudando a más personas.
No es nada fácil, pero ahí vamos.
Wow. i didn't realize living expenses in Venezuela were so low. I guessed they were cheaper, but I had no idea. On the other hand, the salaries are so small. I'm shaking my head.
Are you happy to be leaving soon? Or would you rather stay there?
Things are very cheap here, but the salaries are miserably low. You can buy a nice pack of cheese for 1.15 USD, and it's charming to be able to buy a lot of stuff with what I earn on Steemit.
However, the minimum monthly salary is 1.15 USD too right now, and it's what most people earn, so the cheapness of it loses its beauty right away.
I'm happy, I've been mugged quite a few times, the water service only works a couple times a week, the internet is getting worse by the day, there is no cash, only bank transactions, because the government has imposed ridiculous limitations on banks in order to try to reduce the cash flow...
But I can't leave for now until I get my papers in order and I get a bit more of an income. I'll try to grow my account in the meantime and start the help communities before I leave so that I can help Venezuelans in growing communities while I'm out.
I would, of course, prefer that the conditions got better instead of leaving, but what are the chances of that happening? The government is strengthening its hold on the throne and I don't see them leaving any time soon. So, for now, I'm leaving. I'm feeling trapped and pressed down in here.
I'm so sorry to hear about all of that. We get pieces of news here and there, but there's so much being reported from so many places it just seems to jump around where it's the most dire or most salacious. Wars and terrorism or what the President did or didn't do.
I sincerely hope you're able to accomplish what you want to do. One person can't really solve a country's problems, but they can try to help a few. You're very good to be thinking about others. But then, what else can you do, right? The need is right there, and it's unavoidable.
Stay safe.
I will try to stay safe :) And agreed; the key is to give as much as we can no matter where we are. I hope that in a few months I will have grown enough to make all of these dreams become true.
As for the news you get, I think that it's part of a series of campaigns of disinformation. I don't know how it works, but I know that the government has many news networks spreading views that are very different to reality. Even though sometimes they are easily falsifiable, they disorient the readers and may cause a strong disregard for the situation in the country.
I don't trust much of it, anyway. Ours isn't officially state run, but it is for all intents and purposes. Haven't been able to figure out what they have to gain by it. They may have had the power at one time to bring people to power, but theirs such a healthy distrust of them now, I don't think that's so true. They've got so much misinformation going that they can't possibly keep track of it all.
That said, reality is still reality, no matter how they want to try and spin it.
I know we talk often on the condition of Venezuela and how Steemit is making a viable place to earn multiple min monthly incomes for a lot of people.
I think you will do the right thing by doing that and providing opportunities for other people.
I look forward to you becoming a dolphin for your community.
I would love that so much! :) I have so many ideas to be able to help. I was helped so much myself by Purepinay, one of the major dolphins that the Philippines has, and she's still helping me nowadays. So apart from being thankful, I think that it would be only right if I passed the favour onto those who would benefit even more than I did.
I'm still very far from there, but it's a nice dream to have and I think that it would be a pretty good deal for everyone if I did.
With the rate that you are going and the people supporting you I am sure you can
Same position sis.
Wishing you . Me. All.good steeming and luck
Resteemed
I like what i read. I resteem what i need
Samer
Thank you, @red-rose :)
My friend . Can you kindly make a post about my resteeming service and another post about our friendship please...
and youre doing so SO well. i cant believe how much youve grown your account in the past few months. the dedication is truly paying off.
i love reading your stories, but i also love reading about your life. it offers an immensely powerful perspective.
also if you do add any friends or family here, feel free to tell me their usernames as i am happy to follow them and encourage them and upvote their posts as well:)
PS - cant believe your vote is .07 already!!! im only up to .04 but its starting to feel like its worth something now :)
<3 <3 <3
Thank you for your lovely comment. :) And I'll make sure to promote them alright in order to give them a bit of early votes :D
Yup-yup!! :D I'll still try to stay just as dedicated as before if not more! Can't slack off when I'm reaching the good part.
And yeap hahaha, my vote is growing nicely :3. I have 100 SP delegated by Eon, but as that's 1/4 of my SP, I'd say that my vote would be around .04 or .05. I'm trying to make it grow to .1 because that would be around 5 minimum salaries in Venezuela hahaha. :) I'd be able to help so much.
I don't really understand delegation and how it works and also how to delegate. When is the right time to delegate ? I wonder if I should be now and how. Steemit is confusing to me sometimes
You can delegate whenever you want, as long as you know that your vote will be worth less, and that taking away a delegation takes 7 days in order for you to have your SP back (and neither you or the delegatee will have the SP during those 7 days).
You delegate on https://steembottracker.com/delegation.html, it's the easiest way. The instructions are pretty clear, I think, and if not, you can ask me on Discord.
I've delegated to a few accounts in certain occasions, and there's also the possibility to delegate to bots to sell your votes, but that's not worth it unless you have a nice amount of SP going. Otherwise, it's worth more in your own wallet because people will feel more thankful for your votes and you might get bigger votes because of that.
Overall, it's not an easy decision to make, but you can make it any time.
Also be aware that you should always have at least 50 remaining SP on your account or you could get into trouble with the bandwidth. If you have less than like 5 SP, or a similar amount, you won't even be able to retrieve your SP because delegating costs a little bandwidth and you wouldn't have enough for the operation. I used to leave 40 in my account because I'm reckless. :3
Nowadays I retrieved my delegation and have all my SP in my account to help people with my upvote. Now it's worth like 3 minimum salaries in Venezuela and I'm upvoting friends who need it. :)