What I Would Do With 1,000 STEEM

The Set Up

Note: This is topic No. 2 in @dragosroua's May 30 Days Writing Challenge. Feel free to participate but refer to the link for the rules.

_{Image source—Unsplash}

Even climbing Mount Everest starts with one step.

If I Had 1,000 STEEM Tomorrow, What Would I Do With It?

The honest answer: I don't know. Not until it was sitting in my Steemit wallet.

That being said, there are some things I believe I would do with it, that would act as a starting point at least. This is based on there being no strings attached to the 1,000 STEEM that I somehow receive.

I bought 1,000 STEEM

So, my first inclination would be to repay myself that amount as quickly as possible. Not so much because that's what I would want to do, but because I believe it's what my wife would like me to do. I would guess that most of us don't make decisions in a vacuum, and that we all answer to someone to some degree when it comes to financial decisions. I'd like to say my wife and I are 100% in agreement on this particular decision, but we're not. She's supporting what I'm doing to a degree, but she's also wanting to see tangible results, even if it's just potential.

So, I Wouldn't Cash It All Out

Wait. What?

I know what I just said, but let's be smart about this. STEEM has come up over $2 USD (for whatever reasons) from where it was just a few weeks ago, and is now hovering around $3.90 USD. That means my current stake is worth considerably more than what I invested or earned to date. I'd like to keep earning rewards, and having more powered up STEEM would help me do that.

Who knows where STEEM is going. I've read it's poised for a significant upsurge, but what does that mean? Does anyone really know? If annual patterns are any indication of future possibilities, then there is a good chance STEEM will continue to go up throughout the rest of the year.

I Would Cash Out No More Than Half

With 500 additional STEEM powered up, my 100% upvote would be at $0.46, up $0.13 from where it is now, a decent gain.

That would take care of half of the 1,000 STEEM. The rest, I would keep until I could sell it at the equivalent of my current investment, which would be $6 USD. Since that price has already been achieved (and recently), it doesn't seem like a farfetched plan.

Keep What I've Been Doing, Only More And Better

I've been doing my best to curate good content and to spread my vote as much as I can while still allocating some semblance of a meaningful reward. I would continue to do so. In the grand scheme of things, while the amounts were using here is helpful, it's not life altering. Even if I were living somewhere where it could make a significant difference, it would take more to change the way I live or the things I do.

So, I keep posting, commenting and curating, just with more oomph.

That's what I think I would do with 1,000 STEEM with no strings attached.

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What If It Were 10,000 STEEM?

I've already answered today's question, but I like thinking about different scenarios, so since we're on the subject, what if tomorrow upped the ante by a factor of ten and brought 10,000 STEEM instead?

Thank you, tomorrow!

However, I don't think the tactics change much, just the amounts as far as what is powered up and what is cashed out. I'd still like my initial investment back, but I could easily double the amount if I so chose. It would all depend truly on how quickly I needed it. If I could wait for $6 STEEM (which who really knows when that is), I would keep 1,000 in STEEM and power up the rest.

Adding 9,000 SP to what I have boosts my 100% vote to $2.68! It raises me from minnow to dolphin overnight. Even 10% votes are nearly as large as my 100% votes are now. Instead of dropping nickels, I could be dropping quarters!

Okay, Since You're Dreaming Anyway...

Don't stop there, right?

100,000 shows up tomorrow. What does that do? At today's prices, that's a significant chunk of change. Powering up half makes me an orca! Woohoo! The other half gives me nearly $200,000 USD at where the STEEM price is. That's tough to ignore.

Yet, since we're talking about a 100,000 STEEM drop overnight, I'm not feeling like cashing out so much is what I want to do. Rather, I think I cash out a smaller, yet significant amount, like 10,000 STEEM, when it reaches $7. That pays off the home loan while returning my original investment with some to spare.

With 90,000 SP added to my currently dwindling in comparison amount, I'm up to $23.76 100% votes and my 10% vote is $2.38. I could start making significant 1% upvotes, too. Maybe, just maybe, I consider lending out free delegations of SP. I'd have to think about that, though. At this stage, I'd probably have a horribly rigorous vetting process that no one could ever live up to, so I'd probably need to dial that down somehow.

Might As Well Go For It

1,000,000 STEEM. Mt. Everest. The moon. The drop the mic moments to end all drop mic moments.

My tactics probably change before this point, but they definitely change here. 1 million STEEM makes me one of the largest whales in the STEEM ecosystem. At current prices, I could easily make ends meet cashing in 12,000 STEEM annually (accounting for taxes). Without any rise in STEEM price at all, I could do that for the next 83-ish years if I wanted to.

But you know what? I'm probably still doing something on Steemit. I'm hoping to pursue more creative projects, and maybe this gives me the chance to do that. I'd like to be earning something as I'm taking it out, and this amount puts a lot of options on the table.

I'm also into giving back (which is one of those things that would probably happen before the 1 million STEEM level—just in varying degrees), so I would find ways to do that.

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STEEM With Strings

Since all of this was based on no rules, a free gift, I thought I might take another moment to look at what I'd do if there were strings attached.

That's probably simply answered like this:

• If I agreed with the rules, I'd follow them to the very best of my abilities. The 1,000 STEEM isn't really mine to do with as I will, is it? So, I would have to live by the rules governing the 1,000 STEEM.

• If I didn't agree with the rules, I wouldn't except the 1,000 STEEM. If it just showed up, I'd give it back. There's no reason to do things that I don't believe in, or don't feel are right.

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Sure You Don't Want To Go For 10,000,000 STEEM?

Yeah. I think this suffices for now. No need to get too carried away.