My mother-in-law just gave us £2,500 (roughly $3,000) for Christmas. She's financially secure and can easily spare the money, while our finances are stretched for reasons relating to a natural disaster. We just bought a new house and the money will allow us to do things we want to do to the house sooner rather than later, so we accepted the gift with thanks. The money isn't going to change our relationship with her, and she knows it will be used to make the house nicer for her granddaughter (who's really the most important person in the world for her now).
When I was young, pride made me refuse gifts that would have made life easier for me and also made the giver happy. I still won't accept gifts if I think there are strings attached, but I gave up being too proud a long time ago.
As for whether you should have accepted your mother's offer of paying for your flight, only you can say if that was the right thing to do. If you know the only reason you're strapped for cash is because you spend most of your income on booze and whores, while she's working her fingers to the bone in a chicken processing plant, then you were probably right to feel guilty about accepting the offer. If you really are doing the best you can, and you know she was desperate to have you with her for Christmas, then maybe the right thing to do would have been to let her cover part of the cost of your travel.
Is it polite to decline money when people offer?
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My mother-in-law just gave us £2,500 (roughly $3,000) for Christmas. She's financially secure and can easily spare the money, while our finances are stretched for reasons relating to a natural disaster. We just bought a new house and the money will allow us to do things we want to do to the house sooner rather than later, so we accepted the gift with thanks. The money isn't going to change our relationship with her, and she knows it will be used to make the house nicer for her granddaughter (who's really the most important person in the world for her now).
When I was young, pride made me refuse gifts that would have made life easier for me and also made the giver happy. I still won't accept gifts if I think there are strings attached, but I gave up being too proud a long time ago.
As for whether you should have accepted your mother's offer of paying for your flight, only you can say if that was the right thing to do. If you know the only reason you're strapped for cash is because you spend most of your income on booze and whores, while she's working her fingers to the bone in a chicken processing plant, then you were probably right to feel guilty about accepting the offer. If you really are doing the best you can, and you know she was desperate to have you with her for Christmas, then maybe the right thing to do would have been to let her cover part of the cost of your travel.