JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Personal trainers focus on making sure somebody is hitting their workout goals each day, but over the past two years, one trainer on Camp Lejeune has taken it a step further.

Physical fitness is a focus for every Marine, but a lot of times the focus on a budget is put on the back burner.

“By budgeting ahead of time and planning for your meals for the weeks, you can actually end up saving money over the long run,” Samantha Szydzik says.

Szydzik is a personal trainer working with Marines every day on Camp Lejeune. She notices many Marines hitting the gym hard, then leaving and making poor decisions when purchasing food.

“You can actually go meal prep for three meals a day, five days a week for about under $50 a week, no problem,” Szydzik says.

Szydzik says even the Marines living in the barracks can find unique ways to save money and stay healthy.

“So they meal prep, freeze it, and put it in Ziplocs and stick it in their freezer, or their fridge, and just pull those out and put it in a bowl when they're ready to eat,” Szydzik says.

She also knows the Marines living in barracks have access to the chow hall as well.

“Chow hall meals are probably more cost effective than eating out everyday, but you got to be careful that you're not heading straight for the pizza or the burgers and all that good stuff,” Szydzik says.

Even though she can't help every Marine, she wants to make sure she's doing what she can to help them be better prepared physically and have some extra money in their pocket in the long run.

Szydzik also hosts Facebook live events for civilians who are unable to meet with her on base.