For me it's about the community; so even with Steem going down and continuing, SteemFest showed me that the people are what I care about. The personal growth I have discovered since coming onto Steemit in February has been incredible. It has become a way of life now, in a very short time.
That said, I did make my first fiat buy of Steem yesterday; just a small amount to test how it works. Now I know, I may buy more, but probably not because family and Christmas and all that, plus debt, that awful wolf at my heels. I owe the bank money in the form of an overdraft, and a credit card, and a mortgage. If I can get myself free at least of the first two... So if Steem turns around, I'll probably withdraw to clear that debt. Otherwise, I'll just keep working the day job and chipping away at it as I'm doing now.
I find that it is the most compelling place to interact on the internet I have found. People spend their time on so much other nonsense, why not spend it here?
I am likely to do the same. I had a chance to be debt free last December but didn't take it. However, it did allow me some steem benefits and kept me more invested here. So, if it does go up, I can take some without feeling I have abandoned anyone.