Accepting a gift - swallowing pride

[David Pendergraft]

My wife and I are buy and hold investors and we are taking the leap! My wife will be quitting her full time job to manage our rental properties and stay home with the kids. In the intermediate and long term we will be fine cash flow wise for our household finances, but the truth is in the short term things will be very tight. We really want to have my wife home with our young kids. My wife's parents have offered us a cash gift to make life for our family more comfortable in the short term. They have loaned us money for real estate purchases in the past and they helped with our wedding costs. They are very generous and financially comfortable but they are not wealthy by any means. They were given a similar sum of money by their parents when they had young kids and it made all of the difference, they want to do the same for us. I know it is the best thing for our family in the short term and my wife has no problem taking the gift. Part of me wants to just take the gift, but I am struggling with 1.) Pride - at the end of our lives I feel that I want to look back and know we made this transition on our own. 2.) my in laws are comfortable but not wealthy, this gift probably won't impact their retirement, but they should really be taking care of themselves at this point in their life. I know this is nice problem to have, play me a violin, etc., but I really would love to hear how you would approach such a gift offer? Swallow my pride and go for it? Take the money and when our finances mature we will be in a better place to help them? What are your thoughts? Please share your experience BP!