Your vote is symbolic at this stage. More established Steemians understand that, and don't want your vote for the money. But upvoting anyway will build goodwill and let people know you valued their work. It's a good habit to get into, for when you do have money.
Its already 9pm here in NZ, so not much of the day left, and I'll probably spend most of it answering comments on my post. And there, you see, is another reason to only comment if you have something to add. Some people make it a policy to answer every comment on their posts, and if half of those are generic and meaningless, it's disheartening to know the person didn't read.
In your case, it was a good question, which I was happy to answer. But voting as well makes it look like you mean it. Does all that make sense?