<h2>I Powered Down for the Third Week in a Row--Here is what I learned</h2>
<p>I posted last week about powering down for the second week in a row.  <a href="https://steemit.com/steem/@mctiller/the-power-of-powering-down-what-i-learned-after-powering-down-for-two-weeks">Click here to see that post.</a></p>
<p>And thanks to  <a href="https://steemit.com/@bombastic">@bombastic</a> for commenting on the first post, he gave some very helpful answers.</p>
<h2>It is possible to Power Down Every Week and Still Not Run Out of Steem Power</h2>
<p>Below is a grab of my wallet, exactly 49 seconds before the Power Down this morning.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/PowerDown49seconds0d7ea.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>So take note before the Power Down I had:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>4,923.369 in Steem Power</li>
  <li>$83.242 Steem Dollars</li>
</ul>
<p><br /></p>
<p><strong>Next is a shot after the power down.</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/PowerDownAmount8-6d0c0f.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>Take note:</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li>I now have 46.775 Steem</li>
  <li>My Steem Power is at 4,876.625</li>
  <li>Steem Dollars still at $83.242</li>
</ul>
<h2>Remember Powering Down is actually removal of Vests.  </h2>
<p>Below is the amount of Vests I was withdrawing before the Power Down.</p>
<p>(The image is from last weeks post)</p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/07/30/WNPFOPb7873.png" /></p>
<p>So last week I began a power down of 18,560,043 vests.  And today was the first payment of that power down.  And I received the 46.775 Steem for the first payment.</p>
<p><strong>But today I did two things:</strong></p>
<ol>
  <li><strong>I stopped the Power Down</strong></li>
  <li><strong>I immediately started a NEW Power Down.</strong></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Below is a shot of my new Power Down</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/KrHtPI5573a.png" /></p>
<p>It's only a 0.2% increase from last week.  But it is still an increase.</p>
<h2>Getting the most for my Steem</h2>
<p>As we all probably know the price of Steem has been slowly declining over the last few weeks.  I'm not in a panic, because I started on Steemit in late June when the price was 20 cents a Steem.</p>
<p>But still.</p>
<p>I checked after the Power Down and the price of Steem was right at $2. So I would have gotten about $90 (US dollars that is, and probably a little less with fees.)</p>
<h2>But on a whim I checked the Internal Market</h2>
<p>And boy am I glad I did that.</p>
<p>I got a lot better price from Steem to Steem Dollars.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/SteemtoSteemDollarTrade962ad.jpg" /></p>
<p>I got $2.29 for Steem on the internal market.  So I got $107.128 (Steem Dollars)</p>
<p> I know that Steem Dollars aren't exactly $1 to $1 Us.  </p>
<p>After I made the trade Steemdollar.com said I could get 88 cents for every Steem Dollar.</p>
<p>So for the 107 (SD) I would have gotten $94 (US)</p>
<p><strong>That's a $4 difference.  Or a 4.4% increase in price than I had gone straight from Steem to Bitcoin to Dollars.</strong></p>
<h2><strong>How is this Powerful</strong></h2>
<p>I received 45 Steem today from my Steem Power.  But even without doing anything over the next week, I will earn MORE than 45 Steem Power in interest alone.</p>
<p>To check that I calculated how much Steem Power I was earning in a minute.</p>
<p>At the start of the minute I had 4,880.716 Steem Power:</p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/Startofminutesteempowerdc089.jpg" /></p>
<p>So I waited 60 seconds later.</p>
<p>And then I had.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/06/Endoftimedminute07ef0.jpg" /></p>
<p>That's a difference of 0.023 Steem Power.</p>
<p><strong>So let's multiply that out:</strong></p>
<ol>
  <li><strong>Multiply that by 60 minutes and I get 1.38 Steem Power per hour.</strong></li>
  <li><strong>Multiply that by 24 hours and I get 33.12 Steem Power per day.</strong></li>
  <li><strong>Multiply by that by 7 days and I get 231.84 Steem Power per week.</strong></li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>So even if I don't post, comment, or upvote anything, I will earn more Steem Power in the upcoming week than I will cash out.</strong></h2>
<p>But of course, I will post, comment, and upvote.  I can receive cash and still earn more Steem Power as time goes along.  Add in Steem Dollars I earn from posting, it really gets interesting.</p>
<h2>Why Do This?</h2>
<p><strong>I could use the extra cash</strong>.  I am a public school teacher by trade so a few extra hundred bucks a month makes a noticable difference the budget.</p>
<p><strong>Diversifying my wealth</strong>.  I have high hopes that Steemit will be around and take off.  And if and when it does I will still have a larger amount of Steem Power and the value of my account will take off, even with the cash I am taking out.</p>
<p><strong>Hedging my bets.</strong>  Let's say the worse happens and Steemit tanks and Steem becomes nearly worthless, I still will have deposited several thousand in cash into my checking account, and I won't be left holding worthless digital coins.</p>
<h2>Still Very Bullish on Steem</h2>
<p>Despite Powering Down I am still very bullish on Steem.  And I show that by spending time here posting, commenting, and upvoting.  If I didn't think Steem was worthwhile I wouldn't be posting here, it's pretty much that simple.</p>
<p>I know that not everyone will do this.  I know that a lot of people won't Power Down just to hold the Steem off the market in order to help create demand.  I don't disagree with that approach, or think that it is wrong.  I started this experiment a few weeks ago to learn, and possibly show a different opinion to Powering Down.  And for me, right now, this works.  </p>
<p><strong>I think this shows just how powerful of a life changing economic engine that Steemit can be.</strong></p>
<h2><strong>Questions I still have:</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Do the amount of vests to Steem change?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Vests don't earn interest, am I correct on that?</strong></p>
<p><strong>(If you know the answer to those questions, please leave a comment.)</strong></p>