Bradley Alagna – better known as Bradley on a Budget to his nearly 700,000 TikTok followers – saved more than $89,000 in 2024. Sharing the results of his "2024 Savings Wrapped", the US content creator is known for detailing his journey of frugal living after tackling massive student loan debt.
While he has been creating content for the past five years, Alagna only began monetising about 10 months ago, earning around $25,000 in that time. However, now he – along with more than 170 million users of the platform in the US – are anxiously awaiting a Supreme Court decision that could determine TikTok's future in the country.
"It has been such a crazy couple of weeks of everyone going everywhere and no one knowing what's the next best step. It's been really overwhelming to try to take everyone along with me, so it's been tough," Alagna tells The National.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on January 19. Nevertheless, US president-elect Donald Trump has hinted he could issue an executive order after taking office to delay the legislation's enforcement. In a court filing on Monday, TikTok said that if the app is banned in the US, small businesses and social media creators could lose a combined $1.3 billion of revenue within a month.
Alagna is among those who would be affected. "If I was to kind of keep up with the numbers I was making in October, November and December, I mean, I could easily be losing probably like $30,000 to $40,000 this year, just alone from TikTok getting banned."
If enforced, the ban will prevent users in the US from downloading TikTok from the Google or Apple app stores, gradually making its services inaccessible.
Taylor Byrne, who goes by QueenTayShops, is a full-time creator from Atlanta, Georgia who has more than 200,000 followers on TikTok. She says 90 per cent of her income has come from the platform in the past two years, and hasn’t held back on expressing her frustration with the situation.
"I feel disappointed, devastated, angry, shocked," she says. "I feel like I've been through all the stages of grief at this point, not only for myself, but I'm somebody who has so many creative friends and has made a majority of my friends in the creative space."
Like other influencers who will be affected, she has already moved to another platform. In this case, RedNote, a Shanghai-based app that has been active since 2013. Despite its predominantly Chinese interface, a growing number of American users are joining the platform, referring to themselves as "refugees" of the TikTok ban.
Byrne says she has had positive early experiences with the app, emphasising the platform's openness to collaboration and recognition of creators' influence. "Within my first two days on the platform, I received a request for agency support and paid collaborations," she said.
While Byrne has turned to another foreign app, Alagna has doubts about starting over. "I've been posting almost every day for five years, and I don't necessarily know if I have it in me to do it all again," he admitted.
Instead, he is leaning towards focusing his content on platforms with an established audience. "We're all scrambling right now," he says. "I've had my Instagram for a really long time, and I've had some of my TikTok supporters follow me [there] so I think I'm just going to move to Instagram. I've started [the Frugal Freak] podcast on YouTube and have had some of my supporters go there."
I've been posting almost every day for five years, and I don't necessarily know if I have it in me to do it all again
Bradley Alagna,
TikTok content creator
While RedNote has shot to the top of the free app download charts in the US, Byrne thinks it could potentially face similar challenges to TikTok. "I think that this TikTok ban is the start of many bans and many attempts to take things down that aren't American," she says.
But her concerns run deeper, fearing this could mark the beginning of a broader crackdown. "That's why I think a lot of us are scared. Not just because we think it's a one-off thing, we think this is the start of our methods of speech being taken away."
As concerns about the ban increase, content creators are weighing up their options for the future, with some even considering leaving the country.
"It's actually something I've considered as well as many other creator friends," Byrne says. "We've been joking back and forth about flying to the Bahamas to batch our content and post for the month. So it is a joke in that regard, but I think some of us are half-joking as I've seriously considered it, if this continues to happen with TikTok and other apps moving forward."
More on animal trafficking
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Sweet%20Tooth
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
