Woman Gifts Mother-in-Law $2 Thrifted Boots. Days Later, She Gets a Text Asking for the Gift Receipt (Exclusive)

• Cara Isaacs was at a garage sale this summer when she came across a pair of Life Stride booties

• The Chicago local decided to purchase them as a gift for her mother-in-law, and gave them to her during the holidays

• But a few days later the 33-year-old received a message from her mother-in-law kindly asking if she had a gift receipt and if it would be okay if she exchanged the boots  

Earlier this summer, Cara Isaacs was at a garage sale when she came across a pair of Life Stride booties. The shoes still had the tissue paper inside the boot and wrapped around the boot tassels, and were on sale for only $2.

The Chicago local decided to purchase them as a gift for her mother-in-law, and gave them to her during the holidays. Upon opening the box, Isaacs told her to let her know if they didn't fit. "I truly did not believe they wouldn’t work for her. They were her size and just her style," Isaacs tells PEOPLE exclusively.

But a few days later the 33-year-old received a message from her mother-in-law kindly asking if she had a gift receipt and if it would be okay if she exchanged the boots.

"I was taken aback at first when she asked," Isaacs says. "In my mind, I was convinced the boots would fit her, they were just her size and her style! I felt bad because I didn’t have a gift receipt nor an option to return them. "

"My initial reaction was 'Oh no .. how am going to make that happen?' " Isaacs says. "I initially didn’t want to admit I purchased them at a garage sale because some people associate garage sale shopping with being cheap. I didn’t want her to think I was cutting corners ... I didn’t just buy these boots because of the great price, I bought them because they were just her style and size!"

Thankfully, Isaacs says that because this conversation was via text, she had time to think about her response.

Eventually, she landed of telling her mother-in-law that she didn't have a gift receipt for the boots as she bought them awhile ago. And, instead, she told her to pick herself out a pair of new boots and she would buy them for her.

"I did not put any parameters. Whatever pair she wants, I offered to buy them for her," Isaacs says. "I even told her if she didn’t want another pair of boots, feel free to pick out something else she’d like instead. I would have offered and loved to go shopping with her to find another pair, however, she lives out of state."

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In the midst of everything, Isaacs decided to post about the situation on TikTok. She says she was curious to see how others would handle the text.

Then, the video went viral, amassing more than 175,000 views and 550 comments.

“I’d tell her no receipt, but you’d get her a replacement of what she wants! Everyone wins. That’s just a risk you take when you give something thrifted, been there!” one comment read.

“As a MIL, I think that sounds wise not cheap,” someone else wrote.

Another user said, "Why buys footwear for anyone? There is always a chance they won’t fit! Too risky.”

"It was actually a bit overwhelming; I didn’t expect there to be so many differing opinions on how to handle this dilemma," Isaacs says.

Isaacs explains that she's been shopping clearance sales, garage sales and consignment stores since she was a teenager. She made the switch when she realized how much more she could get for her money.

Although she loves garage sale shopping, she adds how she does not intentionally go out to garage sales to shop for gifts for friends and family. These gifts are often stumbled upon as she's out, or when she find something neat that reminds her of someone.

"I think I just need to be more careful on the items I thrift and gift," she adds. "Items that are size-specific maybe aren’t the best items to thrift without any option to return or exchange. However, if you can thrift a one-of-a-kind items or an item at a great price, why not gift them to your friends and family?"

"At the end of the day, where the gift came from doesn’t matter. It is the thought that counts," she adds. "Cheap is buying purely to get something for the least amount of money. Frugal is being smart and intentional with your money, getting something for a great value."

Read the original article on People