Welcome to Steemit. You don't necessarily have to pay for upvotes. You should not expect to make lots of money unless you do and chances are that it will just break you even buying upvotes. You will just get more exposure.

The way I looked at it, 10 cents is more than I ever made from my Facebook account, or any of my social media accounts. And someday, that 10 cents might actually be worth a dollar.

Anyway, welcome to the community. I hope you find it welcoming, or at least bearable. It's a beta, so there is still work to be done, but it's better than the rest.