It's not money out of pocket. It is money earned by blogging here.
And the point I make to little guys, is that they can grow much more quickly by leasing than they can by directly powering up. For less than 4 steem you can get 50 sp for 24 weeks. 4 steem added to 50 steem is depressing and a slow path to nowhere.
After you lease with all the steem you get for a few months, then you can stop at some point if you are not powering down, or keep leasing and grow faster still. If you spend 50-100 sp on leasing, then you will have your own 500. If you spend it to directly power up, you will still be under 200.
Little guys who have taken my advice are now big guys. On the other hand, many blog for a year or more without leasing or attaining 500 sp.