Jul 25, 2026
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Add us on GoogleIf you feel like you need to cut down on your spending and live a more frugal lifestyle, your first thought might be to cut out your weekly trip to the coffee shop or food delivery order. But TikToker Bradley On A Budget takes things several steps further.
Bradley has amassed over 1 million followers on TikTok from sharing his extremely frugal lifestyle. Some of the recurring money-saving habits in his videos include eating mainly chicken and eggs for meals, unplugging the internet router when leaving the house, dumpster diving for clothes and shoes, living in an outdated apartment with a free dorm room twin mattress to sleep on and, somewhat amazingly, only owning a single blue dinner plate.
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While Bradley definitely gets supportive notes in his comment section, he also gets quite a few comments and response videos questioning his lifestyle and accusing him of rage-baiting.
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Whether his videos are an accurate portrayal of his lifestyle and finances or just a tactic to stir up angry viewers, he presents himself as a case study for whether extreme frugality is really worth it in the end.
Bradely on a Budget’s financial situation
According to posts on his TikTok, Bradley has saved $500K at 33-years-old by living a frugal lifestyle since he was 20. He is also open about having nearly $200K in student loan debt that he is working to pay off in payments of about $1,100 per month. Bradley’s other monthly expenses are pretty low as he spends an average of $40 a week on food and $850 a month on rent.
“I cook all my food at home because going out to eat is expensive and stupid” he said in a video.
The TikToker’s monthly income is unclear, but he says he works a job as a financial coach along with other side hustles like dog-sitting and content creation. One month, he made nearly $20K across all of his income streams.
With such a hefty amount of money saved and a decent — if inconsistent — monthly income, one may wonder where it’s all going — especially since it clearly isn’t going toward gourmet meals or expensive nights out on the town. Bradley says he has a bad relationship with money based on what he saw growing up, and he doesn’t want to be constantly watching stock market fluctuations, so he chooses not to invest.
As of 2024, he had 80% of his savings in a certificate of deposit earning 5.6% APY. Before taxes, he said he earned about $1,000 a month on the interest. He opted for a CD rather than investing because he trusted himself more knowing he wouldn’t want to withdraw the money and face penalties.
Everyone’s financial situation and relationship with money is different. But Bradley’s posts have to make anyone think — does living on a tight budget have to be this extreme?
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Finding balance on a tight budget
Many commenters accuse Bradley of taking things too far, urging him to own better things whether for quality of life or basic cleanliness.
According to a 2025 report by Numerator,“the past five years have seen large swings in spending share, with younger households driving the gains.” Millennials and adult Gen Zers now own 32% of spend, an 8-point increase from 2020. Numerator also reported that the share of consumer goods spending has more than doubled in the past five years for Gen Z. In 2025, Adult Gen Z (18 years or older) share of spend was 6.1%, up from 2.6% in 2020.
While this may make you think Bradley is “one of the good ones” — by saving instead of spending — critics would argue that there has to be balance so even the most frugal people can enjoy their life and make purchases of things they need.
If you’re keen on taking a closer look at your budget, whether to find more wiggle or cut down unnecessary spending, a budget tracking app can be a great starting point. You can use the app to track what you actually spend, save and repay, for a month or two and from there see where you have reasonable room for improvement in your budget. And yes, sometimes improving your budget means adding a category for “fun” spending, within reason.
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Em Norton is a Content Specialist at moneywise.com. They have been with the company since 2022.
