A legally blind Walmart employee posted a TikTok of himself budgeting his paycheck on his page. Then, viewers donated thousands of dollars to help the man with transportation costs after seeing how much of his paycheck was going to accommodations for his disability.
TikToker Jacoby B. Brown (@theeblindguy_), who was born with four different eye conditions, is legally blind. The Little Rock resident works at a local Walmart and shared an exciting development with his audience—he received a 38-cent raise, bringing him to $16.16 an hour.
The TikToker made $1,273 in two weeks, which included a bit of overtime pay. He went through his entire budget, but then he said something that revealed a problem with Little Rock. The TikToker was hoping to save up and move to a different, more walkable city, as he had to spend a large amount on transportation costs.
Viewers noticed this. Thousands of commenters, then, donated to a GoFundMe that Brown had made two months prior. Within a matter of days, his GoFundMe managed to collect over $89,000. Brown himself amassed over 100,000 followers on TikTok, with 4.4 million people seeing his budgeting video on the platform. The goal of the campaign is to reach $100,000, and it’s steadily climbing toward that point.
Brown’s budgeting video goes viral
Brown, an Arkansas local, shared a relatively normal video going through his two-week paycheck. He clarified that he was legally blind and worked at Walmart as an overnight stocker.
The Walmart employee created multiple similar posts; he would go through his budget and make a plan for his spending. Before, though, Brown was making around $15.78 an hour. A recent pay increase, which the TikToker was excited about, made it so that was making slightly more each hour.
The Walmart employee also received a paycheck from TikTok, which gave him around $1,367 to live off of each paycheck. The TikToker explained his budgeting process. He took around half of the cost of his rent out of his paycheck immediately. Then, he budgeted for electricity, groceries, and ride shares.
Viewers noticed that Brown had to budget the same amount for ride shares as he did for groceries. At the time, Brown was putting around $200 of his entire paycheck just into his rides.
“ As you guys know, I don’t drive obviously because I am legally blind, so, um, I’m dependent on Ubers and Lyfts since there’s no public transportation that comes in my area,” Brown said in his video.
It left him with around $400; a portion of that money went straight to a dentist appointment. Then, the rest went to savings and self-care.
Within a matter of days, Brown’s post went viral. Thousands of people commented, congratulating the content creator on his shrewd budgeting while also pointing out that many of the costs he took on were because of a lack of accommodations for his disability in Little Rock.
Brown’s transportation costs
A few commenters asked whether Brown had any available para-transit near him. Para-transit is a legally required service that cities with any form of fixed transit have. Generally, Para-transit exists as an alternative to regular bus routes for individuals who cannot take them. If a person has a disability that would limit their ability to travel on a regular transit route, they’re oftentimes eligible to use para-transit.
Brown, however, mentioned that there was no accessible para-transit route near his apartment. Generally, transit agencies have to have “paratransit service within ¾ of a mile of a bus or rail station,” according to Spare. Despite this, there are certainly gaps in accessibility for transit services in some areas, which can make it inaccessible. Para-transit is required as an alternative for regular routes, but if those routes are already lacking, it can’t adequately support individuals who need those accommodations.
In 2020, Little Rock cut a number of bus routes that were never fully restored. A reporter from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette noted that a lack of transportation options had a direct effect on travel time and the ability to move around the greater area.
Brown further clarified just how much he had to spend on transportation on his GoFundMe page, where he said, “I do work a full-time job, but with transportation it takes a good chunk of my check. I’m spending roughly $200 a week on transportation fees to and from work, which totals out to $800 a month.”
Brown set up a GoFundMe on Feb. 5, 2026, to address the difficulty he was having with travel in his city, but he may not have expected such an outpouring of support from his TikTok audience.
Brown’s GoFundMe blows up
Considering Brown’s expensive travel costs and his desire to remain independent, it became apparent that at some point, the costs might make it difficult for him to thrive in Little Rock. The Walmart employee mentioned that he wanted to make a move to a more traversable city in the near future. In order to manage his current transportation costs, though, he would need more disposable income.
In total, 3,500 people had donated to Brown’s campaign by April 27, with some donating thousands to the creator. His post managed to find millions of people within a week. Even more people came together to comment on his page and uplift his content, which Brown said he was “beyond grateful” for.
@theeblindguy_ Budget my paycheck with me!!
♬ original sound – Jacoby B
The Mary Sue reached out to Brown via email for more information. We’ve also sent a press form to Walmart.
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