Woman finds $300 and note in Coach purse she bought for $7 at thrift store: ‘Be a Martha’

A woman documented her experience finding $300 in inheritance money, and a note from the previous owner, inside of a Coach bag that she purchased at a thrift store for $6.99.

Lynora, who goes by the username @marthainfused on TikTok, uploaded the now-viral video to the app over the weekend.

In the clip, the TikToker began by telling viewers she couldn’t wait to show them what she found inside the purse she bought at the Salvation Army and showed the $6.99 price tag.

Lynora then opened the bag to show the inside, which was slightly stained from use, while noting that she purchased the designer purse with the intention of cleaning it up.

However, while she was trying to remove a flap from the bottom of the bag, she found an envelope filled with cash.

The envelope also appeared to be covered in writing so the TikToker proceeded to read the letter accompanying the cash.

According to the original owner of the bag, she had three children, who she knew would give her things away when she died, so she decided to hide their inheritance in her “favourite” belongings.

The original owner then wrote that the Coach bag in question was “given” to her by her husband’s girlfriend.

“Well, actually, I came home early from a visit to my parent’s house in Connecticut. She must have left quickly, because she forgot her bag and shoes,” the letter read. “I carried this bag every day. I wonder if my husband ever knew this was his girlfriend’s. I carried it daily and am giving it away because my kids don’t want it.

“So, go buy yourself a new bag. Love, Martha.”

In the video, Lynora then emptied the envelope to show the $300 in cash that Martha had included along with the note.

In the caption of the video, which has been viewed more than 8.2m times, Lynora wrote: “Check your mother’s purses before you donate them to [Salvation Army]!”

The video has since sparked an outpouring of invested comments, with many praising Martha as an “icon”.

“MARTHA IS AN ICON,” Coach’s official TikTok account wrote, while another viewer said: “Martha is my kind of petty. Rest in peace Martha.”

“This is amazing,” someone else wrote. “Martha, we love you!”

According to another viewer, they couldn’t decide “what’s better,” the story, “or hiding the inheritance, or all this for $6.99”.

Others encouraged Lynora to return to the Salvation Army to check for any of Martha’s other belongings to which she revealed she had.

“I did! Haha I looked in every shoe!” she wrote in response to the comment.

In a follow-up video, the TikToker said that she asked employees at the Salvation Army if they had known Martha, revealing that one woman allegedly said she had last seen Martha in December.

While Lynora has not yet identified Martha, she revealed that the late mother-of-three’s actions inspired her to include money in her own donations to Goodwill.

“Just got back from donating a bunch of stuff to Goodwill and you know what? I just put $100 in the pocket of a pair of jeans,” she said in a recent video. “In a world full of Karens, be a Martha!”

The video prompted additional praise from viewers, with many applauding the TikToker for paying it forward.

“I hope you left a great note too!” one person wrote, while another said: “Love this! Always pay it forward.”

The Independent has contacted Lynora for comment.