Community Service Documentation Form

Payoff.com is a social finance platform enabling communities to fulfill their individual and collective dreams. We launched public beta in January 2011 and have collected 1,000+ dreams, of which over 90% are related to money. Payoff helps people fund their dreams and signNow their goals, like saving for a house or vacation, adopting a child, paying off credit cards, and starting a business, in addition to connecting them with other people working towards the same things. The current product enables users to share their dreams, set up goals, link and track financial accounts, earn badges, and receive cash Sur-Prizes for progress. We provide tools from top-quality partners, as well as educational content to help move users to action and success. Ultimately, we provide a more intuitive way for users to understand how they are spending their life -- it’s not about the dollars, but it’s about the positive use of money, time, talent, and charity. We aim to own dreams and achievement on the web.  Payoff will create meaningful social connections and dialogue through dreams, goals, implicit communities based on personal transactions (the “real-life check-in”), and our partners.  In addition, our relevance and recommendation engine is guided by a Science Advisory Board, with leaders from Cal-Tech, USC, and Northwestern. We recognize that achievement and financial behavior, like most decisions, is driven by emotions, not budgets and lists, and we are signNowing people in this emotional space. One user told us, “I feel more encouragement from these badges than I think you will ever know.  I'm not the most emotional person but I have been so poor for most of my adult life trying to get through school that the day  [the] "STASH" badge was awarded to me I cried!” Payoff is founded by Scott Saunders (Walz Group, Inc 500) and Eden Warner (pre-revenue to profitability CFO at Fandango), along with folks from Yahoo! and SpotRunner. You can view a video about us at and contact us at scott@payoff.com. Also, check out what folks are saying: AOL WalletPop: http://www.walletpop.com/2011/01...Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/p...U.S. News Money: http://money.usnews.com/money/bl...

I am one of 3 sons, and we were all told from as young as I can remember, “You have until you’re 18 to live here and eat my food and use my utilities. As long as you live here, you will obey my rules. My house, my things, my kids, my rules.” This was not my parents’ position just to “make me homeless”. Homelessness was not their intent. Us boys achieving independence and self-reliance was the intent.My parents lived through the Great Depression and World War II. My Dad was a B-29 bombardier in the Korean War, but before that he was one of 14 children of a tobacco farmer (and moonshiner), and that meant that he had to work hard for every meal he ate. My Granddaddy was a little, wiry, freakishly strong, backbreaking worker of a man. Daddy always told us (and so did his siblings) that the young un’s were Mama’s until theywere big enough to hold a hoe and shovel, at which point they became Granddaddy’s labor force. Granddaddy would often say he couldn’t afford to hire help, so he just made it instead.My Mom is a first-generation American, the daughter of Itish immigrants who fled Ireland due to the depths of poverty and hopelessness turn-of-the-century Irishmen endured. Hours in Irish fields were just as long and hard as what my Dad grew up in, and my Mom’s folks knew there was no future for them at home. Irish children died of hunger routinely or were basically sold off to various ‘labour houses’ to perform backbreaking manual labor for pennies a week. Upon arriving in the US in 1910, in Birmingham, Alabama, my grandparents found work of the same type as in Ireland: crop gathering, mining, menial household chores-type work wherever it could be found.Feeding a family in those conditions was a tribulation. It was very common for children to strike out on their own as young as 15. My Mom stayed at home with her folks until at 18, she met my Dad on leave in 1956 in Pensacola, Florida, where she was visiting cousins, picking strawberries and tomatoes for 2¢ a bushel. My Dad joined the Air Force by lying about his age to get in, in 1949 at the age of 15, to get off the farm and “make some real money”—the princely sum of $82 per month! And free medical and dental, and even paid vacation. Unheard-of in 1949 on the shale flats and hills of rural Tennessee tobacco country. By 1956, Daddy had gone from an Airman 2 to an O-1 bombardier from 1951–53 (battlefield promotion) and back down to WO-4 after the war when he reclassed as an Air Policeman, for which he was paid $399 per month. They married in 1959 after he got out of the Air Force. He took his GI Bill and went to flight school and electronics school, eventually becoming a commercial-rated pilot and an Electrical Engineer just as the Space Race shifted into warp drive. He landed at NASA and TRW Space Systems (from which he retired after 33 years).Mom had no education beyond high school and secretary school, working as a store clerk, a farmer’s market secretary, a Ma Bell telephone operator, a doctor’s receptionist, a medical bookkeeper, and even a Census taker, collections agent, and construction secretary. She finally fetched up at DCAA and retired as a Federal auditor.Even after such a life, my Daddy found himself to be restless—he often said he didn’t know what to do with himself, living at 3113 Leftwich Street, Huntsville, Alabama in 1965. Their house had a small back yard, too small for livestock or gardening, so in 1969, he found a delapidated old farm in Lincoln, Tennessee, and that’s where I lived until 1976, when I absconded to the military.Theirs was a rags-to-JCPenney-clothes story, and every chapter was written in sweat and tears. My brothers and I were raised on a feeder farm by hard-working, no-nonsense people who were themselves the children of hard-working, no-nonsense people.Being shown the door at NLT 18 may seem cruel to the modern generation (of Americans) who’ve never once had to scrape potatoes out of the earth with their bare hands (like me and my family did), or catch a cow that didn’t want to be caught, or pluck chickens or gut fish, or scrub the bristles off a hog’s hide just to have supper.My parents took me to the Lincoln County Health Department when I was 14 to get my work permit, and they found me my first job—minimum wage of $1.65 per hour (not $2.00, because it was a restaurant…an ice cream shop). I had to give every cent to them for room and board and gas to and from the Hyde Out. If I was lucky, I kept $2–3 for myself.I couldn’t wait to be 18 and get the hell out of there! I mean, I literally couldn’t wait—I joined the Navy at 17 (with Daddy’s blessing and Mom’s not knowing until it was too late to stop it).For many people of my generation, getting kicked out at 18 was a liberation. It was very hard to live at home with the endless labors of being a farmer’s child.I vowed that my eventual children would not be raised so close to the dirt that they had to dig it out from under their fingernails every night. I vowed that my eventual kids would not have to go fishing after school to have meat for supper. Once I was finished with military service, I bought a place in the country to raise my kids on…but it is no farm—feeder, truck, commercial, or otherwise. Just some acreage 20 miles from my job where I can plant tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers, where I don’t hear sirens every single day, or have neighbors 30 feet away, but guess what I told my kids?“You have until you’re 18 to live here and eat my food and use my utilities. As long as you live here, you will obey my rules. My house, my things, my kids, my rules.”I also told them, “You think I’m hard on you, but I never wake you up at 3:00AM to feed the cows, chickens, and hogs and bring in firewood and eggs before you go to school. I don’t make you cut firewood or 12 rows of okra (okra cutting is torture), or bend your back picking bush beans. I never make you clean rabbits or deer for the freezer. I don’t make you sit out back and shuck corn and shell peas for 10 hours. You two have got. It. Made. I make you mow the lawn and pick up your dirty clothes. I make you load the dishwasher. I make you brush your teeth. I make you bring the garbage cans up. I make you do your homework. I’m a bastard, aren’t I?”I made them study and work hard on schooly things because I had already figured out that kids their ages would be adults left behind without college degrees. My hard work and theirs allowed both to attend and graduate the University of Alabama. They’ve done quite well for themselves, and I never have to give either one a cent. I went back to school myself, though not UA because of cost, taking 8 years of night school and correspondence courses to earn my own degrees).None of this was easy, not for any of us.Life is hard. It takes work.And you have to start young.Your parents are doing you a favor. They are not saying to you, “Get out, we hate your guts,” they are saying to you, “Get out and make your own way, and you must start young.”You must adopt the proper attitude: this is for your own good, and only you can see to your own good. Who stays with Mom and Dad til he’s 30 has crippled his own independence and gumption. Get-up-and-go. Drive. Ambition.If you have none, you become a leech rather than a worker bee.

Spend less time using your blocked Internet to ask questions on Quora, andTravel back in time to when there was no curfew and you were playing Super Mario Kart, and instead, fill out your exam form.

1) Things to keep in mind while filling your DAF1. DAF is not like your resume, the more achievements the more you will score.Here DAF is only a way to know about you so that they can ask questions.2. Please do not try to fake or write for the sake of writing. If there is no achievement, then don’t create one, no hobby then don’t write fake one .3. Be specific. For you music might be a hobby (listening in free time), but they will expect you to know about music in detail. . You might like cooking but they will ask you anything related to cooking ( about preservatives, masalas, cooking recepies, types of cuisines etc).So better to avoid writing such open ended things. Write specific things which you know you can prepare.a4. Writing something and not able to answer basic questions related to those things sends a very wrong impression. When you are filling DAF ensure you write less but meaningful things you are confident about.2) Service Preference ListImportant : These are my personal views which can be biased. Detail about each service, growth opportunities can be found here http://persmin.gov.in/AIS1/Welco...Brief about Services1. IASGood work, Good Infrastructure and highly respectable. Issue is interference and work pressure. If you want a very peaceful life and tension free life then think about it.2. IFSWork as diplomats. Good services, especially for people who like to travel, pursue intellectual hobbies. You will have alternate terms in foreign country and India. Yes do give a consideration from family perspective and secondly from perspective that if you want paraphernalia you will not get it.3. IPSMostly work is in law and order domain. Lot of power, infra and Paraphernalia. However IPS is a very tough job and not everyone is made for it. It needs lot of patience, sacrifice in personal life and has maximum interference. So choose accordingly.4. IRS IT and CustomsMy personal advice would be to choose IT over customs ( stable cadre, timely promotions , decent infra and good places of postings) However work can appear to be boring due to a desk job restricted to taxation. Customs on the other hand is having more variety.5. IRTS vs IAASIRTS is IAS of railways. Lot of manpower under you. Good infra and facilities. However issue is very hectic life especially if you are in operations side as you have to manage timely running of trains. So don't opt it if you want a peaceful and tension free life.IAAS on the other hand is a totally different service. It audits almost everything in government. Remember it is not just auditing of accounts here but a larger purview. Also stable posting, normal working hours, postings in state capital and Delhi plus lot of foreign visits and yes timely promotions. Plus everyone fears an auditor. However you won't enjoy executive powers and perks like IRTS. So decide what kind of life you want.6. Accounting ServicesIRASBest among accounting services. Total financial power in railways. Good infrastructure, work life balance and good postings. Plus lot of opportunities for deputation due to finance.IDASThis is also a good service. Lot of financial power in defence sector. Good infrastructure, work life balance and good postings. Plus lot of opportunities for deputation due to financeICASThis is more of an accounting service. It has the responsibility to consolidate accounts of all the Dept except few. Posting in Delhi. However housing, car can be an issue.IPTAFSThis service has lost lot of ground due to BSNL and MTNL separating from DoT. So major work is collecting spectrum allocation and licence fee. Infrastructure issues are also there.7. Railway servicesRailway services have good infrastructure and facilities. Housing, car and manpower is not an issue.IRTS - IRAS - IRPSIRPSNot much work, dealing with unions and personnel management .RPFI would suggest to fill it among the bottom 5 services. Its like paramilitary force (Railway Protection Force)8. IPoSGood service. Administration of all post offices. Good infra and facilities. Plus post office's are getting modernized so new work is coming up.9. IDeSThis is a service where you work as CEO of cantonments/defence estates. There is huge infrastructure at your disposal, very good facilities. However growth is stagnant, work is not dynamic. Also you will not always be working in cantonments, HQ postings and other postings are there as well.10. ICLS and ITSBoth are new age services with postings in Capital cities and Delhi. ICLS are regulators of corporate sector. They implement company law and are involved in Registration, M&A, and Liquidation etc. Service seems to have a promising future but as of now it is not much preferred. Reasons include Infrastructure problem, desk work and stagnation as the top level.IT on the other hand deals with trade policy implementation. Officers working closely with traders and exporters. Also working in SEZ, policy work and some International exposure. So work is interesting and promising.Issue with both the services is similar. These are comparatively new service & do not have a huge infrastructure compared to postal, defence and railways. So Car, housing, other facilities might be a little problem. Also at senior level stagnation issue.11. IoFSNot much of an idea but their scope is more or less related to management of ordinance factories. Infra won’t be much of an issue. But usually filled among bottom few services12. Danics & DanipsThese are like State civil services(UT civil service) with a difference that promotions are better compared to most of the states. Many people prefer them at the bottom due to Group B. However in terms of power, work, infra these are better than many group A central services.13. Indian Information ServiceThis is like a PR Job. Most IIS officers work in various media units which are under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting such as DD News, All India Radio, Press Information Bureau etc. Even posted with various Ministries as spokespersons to handle the Ministry's information and communication needs and help in policy formulation. So work wise this is a nice service, plus majorly you stay in Delhi. Infrastructure, car housing is again an issue.14. AFHQ + Pondicherry civil serviceBottom services to be filled.Now how to fill service preference listSee this is a totally personal choice depending on what you want from your life. What matters to you : balanced life ? Quality work ? Power & Infrastructure? Delhi Posting? Decide accordingly. Here are some hints based on common choice1. Most preferred services (IAS – IFS –IPS – IRS IT –IRS Customs – IRTS /IAAS) .2. Less preffered services ( AFHQ , Pondicherry civil services , RPF, IoFS, IPTAFS ,ICLS )3. Middle Category ( IRAS, IDAS, ICAS, IPOS,IDES,ITS,IIS,IRPS)As per meIRTS >IRAS>IRPSIRAS>IDAS>ICASIPOS>IDESIDAS>IDESICAS, IIS, ITS (one is accounts, other is media/PR and one relates to Trade. Usual preference is ICAS – IIS-ITS)4. Adjust DANICS & DANIPS as per your convenience. Some people prefer them after Railway, Defence and Postal while majority put it at the end. Decide as per your own choice.Delhi Posting : ICAS , IISServices where Infrastructure won’t be an issue (Apart from Most preferred services ): IRAS,IRPS,IPOS,IDES,IDAS . I think infra will not be an issue even in IOFS and RPF.3) CADRE PreferenceP.S : Totally personal views. For details you can refer here http://www.iascoachingindelhi.or...UP: great work opportunities and infrastructure. But if you don't want an exciting and challenging life, it should not be high on your list.Bihar: Mostly like UP but more backward.MP, Rajasthan, Haryana: Good cadres. Balanced ones. Usually preferred by people.Punjab: Mixed reviews about the cadre.Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, Odisha: People carry lot of misconceptions. These are nice cadres to work plus good infra. Naxal problem is prevalent only in certain areas. Other issue is these are little backward areas. But I think these are highly underrated cadres .Uttarakhand and Himachal : Decent cadres to work but terrain issues. Not everyone likes hill posting so keep that in mind.Northeast cadres : Mostly people fill them lower in their preference due to factors like distance, culture, hills, personal life etc. Assam-Megahalya is the most preferred choice among north east cadres.J&K : considered a tough posting. Hills + security concerns etc.West Bengal and Kerala : Work wise normal but their political setup is different so many people don't prefer these cadres. So decide accordingly .Andra and Telangana : Good cadres to work. North Indians prefer them most among southern states.Karnataka: fineTamil Nadu : state services is very strong here so at times they hold important posts in the district .Maharashtra : Good cadreGujarat : Mixed reviews.Agmut: mixed reviews. Good thing is you get to stay for long in Delhi.Making choicesI can’t tell you what to opt. But I can share what people preferably fill at lower preference. Again as per my knowledge.- North eastern States- J&K- Kerala and WB ( some people prefer to fill them low)Also sharing some favoured cadres due to different reasons:- Rajasthan, Haryana, MP (Delhi proximity and balanced cadres )- UP & Bihar (Strong power centres for IAS)- AGMUT (Delhi posting, but not for those who like UP , Bihar work culture )- Sorry but I am not able to comment on south Indian cadres due to lack of in depth knowledgeCadres considered bad but are actually not- Chhattisgarh and JharkhandThat is all from my side. Hopefully this post can help you to some extent. All the best

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