Did you hear the story of the family that won a luxury motorhome? Well it’s not exactly a Happy forever story, but it certainly has some teachable moments.
The family of four liked to take trips together and had a long list of places they wanted to see. However, his budget simply did not include a lot of travel funds. So when the mother saw a contest to win a luxury motorhome, she thought, “That would be perfect for us! If we didn’t have to pay for a hotel, we would have more money for the other parts of the trip.” So, she entered the contest. Six weeks later, he received a notice that he had won the luxury motorhome. When he shared the news with the rest of the family, they were ecstatic. And then reality reared its ugly head.
When he contacted the contest company, they told him that someone would have to pick up the motorhome in a city about 500 miles away in 5 days. Also, because the luxury RV was so large, it could only be driven by a licensed individual. Neither mom nor dad had the proper license, so they mounted a frantic search for someone to accompany them and drive the motorhome home, because 5 days was not enough for one of them to get the proper license. They finally found someone. But one of them would have to leave work to take the driver to the pickup location and they would have to pay the driver. And one or both of them would still need to get the proper driver’s license, since they couldn’t take someone with them on every trip just to drive the motorhome. When Mom spoke to the contest company again to let them know what day they would pick up the motorhome, she was informed that the family would also have to purchase insurance for the vehicle before they could drive it. Another frantic effort ensued as they added a luxury motorhome to their auto insurance policy. Dad almost choked on dinner when Mom told him the cost.
They finally got the motorhome and parked it in the driveway. The next day, they received a call from the homeowners association telling them that a vehicle of that size could not be parked in the driveway or in the yard. They were told they had 2 days to move it or they would be fined. A more frantic search produced a place where the RV could be housed, but the cost was not cheap because the RV was larger than the vehicle storage spaces on the lot, so they had to rent two spaces. Three weeks later, after much study and multiple attempts at the test, both Mom and Dad received the proper license to drive the motorhome.
When the family started planning the first trip in their new luxury motorhome, they ran into a few other unexpected obstacles. First, not all of the campgrounds had sites large enough to accommodate their RV, so they were limited in where they could go. This condition ruled out the top three most desirable places on his list of places to visit. Second, they realized that once they parked their giant portable hotel room, they were going to need another vehicle to facilitate the sightseeing. There was more research and debate on whether to rent a small car that they could tow behind the motorhome or drive both the motorhome and one of their own cars to camp. The first option would result in the cost of the rental vehicle, buying or leasing a tow trailer, installing a hitch on your RV, and the stress of towing a trailer behind a vehicle that was just below the need for a “wide load” sign. . Sub-option 1 was to travel to the camp, take a taxi to a car rental location, and rent a small vehicle for sightseeing in the area. The second option of driving the RV and one of your cars to camp would mean twice the amount of gas and traveling separately. Either option would result in a lot of money spent on gas because the RV used about twice as much gas per mile as its cars.
When they finally worked out all the details for their first trip (to a spot that was ranked 10th on the list of trips they wanted), the family looked at the money that was left in their vacation fund and it made a big impact. Due to all the additional costs associated with using the new luxury motorhome, they had enough money to eat or pay the cost of visiting the sites. Mom said they could eat all their meals in the motorhome. After thinking about it for a bit, they realized that this was unrealistic because most days they were too far from the camp to return for lunch. So, they got a little more engaged. They reduced the number of sites they would see and decided to pack all of their meals rather than eat at the restaurants they had chosen.
Then, two months later, the family made the first trip in the luxury caravan. When they returned home, they posted a “for sale” ad on Craigslist and several other websites. They decided that the amount of money, commitment, disappointment, and stress just weren’t worth owning a luxury vacation vehicle. They decided they would rather wait and save in order to maximize their vacation money and experiences.
This story is a strong parallel to the situation in which I have seen many people put their organizations when seeking funds that do not fit well with their missions and programs. It is very sad to see an organization committed to their mission, adversely modifying their programs and increasing costs that cause them to abandon their efforts. A little wisdom and a lot of reality before seeking or accepting funds could have kept the mission and programs intact. It makes you start to believe that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”