Stand-up comedian Frankie Hoy sparked another online sensation after revisiting his viral social experiment: trying to survive on just $100 in New York City.
The 2025 version of his challenge, which was recently shared on TikTok, stretched the budget across 27 days before he finally spent the last of his money on a celebratory beer.
The comedian’s creative approach to city living quickly resonated with audiences across the social media platform.
Frankie Hoy turned frugal living into a TikTok storytelling experiment back in 2022
Hoy first gained attention in 2022 when he documented himself living off $100 while living in his van and performing stand-up gigs across New York.
His daily videos showed everything from brewing coffee in the van to finding cheap pizza slices and reusing leftovers, according to NBC News.
Each clip ended with him revealing his remaining total. This provided a transparent, entertaining record of Hoy’s small victories and daily challenges.
Soon, his challenge started getting a lot of viewers.
“I was getting 50,000 (views) and I got anxious,” Hoy told NBC News at the time. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God. I don’t know any of these people.’ And then it became hundreds of thousands, and I got anxious again.”
For Hoy, the project became more than a stunt. It became a way to test his limits, gain financial awareness, and build a community of people interested in simple living.
@frankie_hoy Day 3 on tryna live of off $100 in NYC #vlog #nyc #budget ♬ original sound – Frankie Hoy
“It’s been a roller coaster of being anxious and then not being anxious,” he said back then.
Frankie’s 2025 challenge showed how creativity and experience could stretch every dollar
Frankie’s life has changed a lot since his 2022 challenge. As seen in his TikTok videos, he no longer lives in his van and now rides a bike around the city.
He does not seem to be working at a catering company anymore. Instead, he now seems to be working as a mover, which means fewer free meals than before.
Despite these changes, Hoy applied lessons from his first run in his 2025 challenge. Instead of buying water, he refilled bottles around the city.
He also relied on staples like lentils, chicken breast, rice, and pasta that he prepared at home and packed for the next day.
He still used Too Good To Go, an app that lets customers buy surplus food from restaurants at discounted prices.
One of those meals, which cost just over $5, stretched into multiple servings.
@frankie_hoy Day 7! #vlog #series #day #nyc ♬ original sound – Frankie Hoy
To save on transportation, Hoy biked around the city instead of taking the subway. Some days, he managed not to spend a single cent.
His TikTok followers watched eagerly as the days went by, with each update feeling like a small triumph against New York’s famously high cost of living.
When he finally reached day 27, Hoy decided to celebrate by spending his last few dollars on a beer, a fitting end to an experiment that required patience, humor, willpower, and a positive mindset.
The $3 beer was also a nice celebration to commemorate the launch of a short film that he and his friend Luke Davis had been working on for some time.
“The perfect way to end your budget! Congratulations!! You made it crazy far!” one TikTok user commented.
Another added, “Made $100 last 26 days longer than I can. Good for you king, what a fun journey.”
Fans connected deeply with Frankie Hoy’s honesty and humor
Hoy’s authenticity has been a major part of his appeal. He previously reflected on the anxiety that came with sudden viral fame but also expressed gratitude for how it allowed people to discover his comedy.
“I’m really happy I got people interested in following and people to see my stand-up, but I really enjoyed the vlogging part of it,” he said back in 2022.
@frankie_hoy Day 27 A detrimental blow to the budget #nyc #vlog #budget #series ♬ cool jazz piano trio playing at a Jazz bar(873833) – ricca
His catchphrases, like his old-fashioned pronunciation of “New York City,” became inside jokes among fans.
One TikTok user commented on the Day 27 video of his 2025 challenge, writing, “This is worse than when your favorite TV show ends.”
Another wrote, “Well deserved!! I was so excited to see this series again. I watched back in the van days!! You’ve made it a long way.”
To celebrate yet another successful $100 challenge, Hoy splurged on a large meal on Day 28.
Unfortunately for him, Day 28 turned out to be an extremely busy day at work, with a 13-hour shift.
Still, he stopped by a burger joint close to his house, where he ordered a triple cheeseburger and cheesy fries.
@frankie_hoy First meal! I shouldn’t have done that #vlog #nyc #budget #burger ♬ cool jazz piano trio playing at a Jazz bar(873833) – ricca
The meal cost more than $25, which was very costly compared to the food he had been eating for the last 27 days, but it was definitely well-deserved.
Netizens shared their reactions to Frankie Hoy’s 2025 $100 challenge on social media
