I've used the dip in the value of the currency to load up on STEEM using bitcoin and ethereum from my bittrex account and then exchange for STEEM and deposit through Blocktrades. I've put over $1k in the past month and my upvote is worth about $0.22 at full power.

It's nice to be able to give back. I completely understand. I've been taking 100% powerup on my of my payouts because I'm in this for the long term. Having steem power is great because you can get paid for procuring content. Self voting is also an option for getting paid dividends on your investment. I usually give out 10 votes at least for each time I vote on one of my own posts. Most of the whales upvote their own stuff between 20 and 90% of their upvotes (@jerrybanfield did a post about this, gotta love the transparency here!). His post is https://steemit.com/steemit/@jerrybanfield/self-upvoting-by-the-top-100-authors-on-steem

I like to try and support newer users who post good content and also people I follow and identify with their content.

I was very frustrated when my vote was a penny or two as well. That's why I put my own money in. I'm fortunate enough to have been able to put that much in. I can afford to lose it all if worse comes to worse.

Good luck to you. You've chosen a wise path IMO. Upvoted.