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A
This is the Jocko Underground podcast number 191, sitting here with Echo Charles EC in the house. We got some questions from you all, and we will do our best to provide guidance, courses of action that you can take, and answers in some cases.
B
It's true. Yeah, life is a maze. Can be, but there's choices. Got some directions.
A
Left, right, or straight?
B
Yeah, sure.
A
Sometimes you got to backtrack a little bit.
B
Yeah. Which is no problem.
A
Nope, no big deal. We don't like to do it. We want to avoid it if possible. So we're here to tell you, maybe you can go left, maybe you can go right, maybe go straight.
B
It's true.
A
Maybe you need to backtrack. We'll let you know.
B
Improve your chances of success. All right, first question. I'm a big fan of podcasts. Always wisdom that connects whatever challenge I'm facing, and I'm grateful for that. Okay. I'm 23 year old. I'm a 23 year old male, recently went back to college for engineering. I work as an electrician now and hope to move up in the field, possibly becoming an engineer. I enjoy it, but my real passion is Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. In a world of. Okay. In a world full of distractions, partying, girls, etc. Jujitsu and MMA have kept me focused, disciplined, and on the right path. Over the past three years, I've transformed from a skinny, out of shape, die into a warrior. I even made my amateur MMA debut recently, winning by first round. Rear naked joke. Since going back to school, I've. I had to cut work hours and lost income. I'm okay living simply, but I'm struggling to afford training and quality food. My diet has been a key part of my progress and I worry losing that will set me back. What's your advice for making extra money on the side or maintaining top level training and nutrition or a tight budget? Thank you again for all the guidance and wisdom.
A
Yeah, check. Awesome, man. Sounds like you're on a. On a good path. Let's talk about food. I think at this juncture, low on money, you got to get in the meal prep game. You got 100% getting the bulk buy. Meal prep game, ground beef. Didn't you have some ground beef combo that you got going on?
B
I have more now. Go ahead.
A
Go, go, go. The quick ground beef recipe.
B
Ground beef rice. You can buy huge sacks of rice.
A
By the way, for not for next to nothing pennies on the dollar.
B
He's on the dollar. Seasoning of your choice. Ground beef, some salt and pepper in there, whatever. But like I said, season of your choosing. Ground beef rice. I put spaghetti sauce, but you can put whatever kind of sauce, soy sauce if you want. Whatever. And I put honey mustard and then sometimes I put salsa. There's a bunch of different ones, but that's the base.
A
Base one for me. Chopping up onions gives ground beef so much extra flavor, you know what I mean? And the other thing is you throw a little bacon in there. There's just so many options. So anyways, you get a meal prep, you cook a bunch of it and you're just eating it, dude. It's just. It's just no factor. So that's one. Tin chicken is one that I has always been a friend of mine, basically because I don't really like tuna fish in a can. But you can get tin chicken at Costco. Like it's. I forget how many grams of protein in there, but it's a lot of protein.
B
40Ish.
A
Yeah, it's like 40ish grams of protein and some. A little bit of fat. No carbs.
B
Very little fat.
A
Yeah, yeah, not a lot of fat. Like very low fat. So get those kind of things, meal prep all day and then go to the right stores. Like there's stores that have discounted stuff, man. Either big giant box stores like Costco or Walmart, or you go to a place like grocery outlet where you're getting stuff that's like going to go bad in three days. But they had it in a big store for six days and it didn't sell. So they move it over here for a day, three days, two days, something like that. You can get some really good deals on that stuff. Cook it up, put in the freezer. That three days just went out to a month, bro. Another thing you can hit. So you know, you hit the grocery outlet type school, Lindy, I think, or Liddy, there's a store called Winco Food. There's a bunch of stores depending on where you are regionally. And then you got your grocery stores. You go into a regular grocery store. Heb Meyer, like, you will get. You get the bulk activity in there. But you got to go in there with the right mindset, right attitude, right attitude. Farmers markets too. You can find some little. You can get a connection. You can build a relationship with somebody that is going to bring chicken. You build that relationship or, or they. You make a. Make a relationship with the butcher. You're like, hey man, I gotta buy. Like start buying massive, like all the ground beef that they have, they'll give you a good discount, dude. Protein powders, let's face it, protein powders, when you look at it, what it costs to buy protein versus protein, you go, go and get some of that milk. You're getting good, clean protein, and it's not expensive. So add that in there and then you just got to get your meal prep on. That's what we're doing. As far as side money goes, there's a bunch of different options right now. You know, you got uber, you got UberEats, you got Lyft, you got Instacart, you got all those things. And those are all little money makers. However, you're an electrician, bro, you have a skill that is. You could hopefully make more money. Handyman activities, emergency work for other electrical companies. Like, there's problems that happen in people's houses where they need someone to come in. Not as often as plumbing, because let's face it, people have plumbing problems all the time. And plumbing problem, you need help immediately. You know, power goes out. Yeah, but that's. That doesn't happen as often where an electrician is going to come in and handle it. You know, you don't short circuit stuff as often as plumbing. You have plumbing issues. But general handyman stuff, if you're an electrician, you know how to do all kinds of stuff. So you throw that ad on Craigslist or Facebook ads or whatever, and you can go and just start making that little bit of money on the side, doing little projects on the weekends. Check in with a big contractor, because big contractors, they might have some stuff that they didn't get caught up on. They need someone to come in on the weekend. You can get that work done. There's a way to look, make a little bit of sign money. Then you got the doorman slash bouncer activity. Echo Charles. Very skilled in this arena. How much you make on a Friday night?
B
Oh, yeah, it depends on the club, obviously, but yeah, yeah, you can do a few hundred dollars in tips.
A
A few meaning $300?
B
Yeah, ish.
A
300 bucks in a night, dude. Friday and Saturday night, that's 600 bones. Plus, you got that minimum wage rolling. Do they pay you minimum wage on top of it?
B
No, no, no.
A
Oh, you legit?
B
Yeah, yeah, legit, yeah. Because only the front door. It's. It really depends on the club, but. But yeah, look into that 100%.
A
Yeah, because you're training Jiu Jitsu, you're training MMA, you got a skill, put that skill to work. So those, that's what we're doing there for side money and then also the price of the gym. Well, this is why we go and we talk to the gym owner. We say, hey, man, listen, I want to. What can I do to get. I need to save 50 bucks a month. You're charging me 150 bucks a month? Can I save 50 bucks a month if I sweep up, can I get a free membership? I'll sweep up. I'll be here. I'll help with the kids class. What? You know, whatever. Whatever you got to do, you can't leave. You know, maybe helping out with classes is a bit much because now you're all sudden. You're dedicating time to be an instructor, but sweeping up the mats at night, sweeping up in the mats in the morning or whatever, cleaning up the place, doing some electrical work around there. Dude, I got a big ass gym. We need electrical work sometimes, you know what I'm saying? You got a row where the light goes out. Even if something simple like that, you're like, hey, light squad, I'll get it. You need some rewiring done. I got it. You just put yourself kind of on retainer.
B
Yeah, yeah.
A
You know, and you know what's. So then you can save some money there. So those are the things I would do. Epic food prep, bulk buying in bulk, cheap places. Epic food prep, side money. There's a ton of side gigs you can do. Hustle. What do they call it? No, they don't call it hustle. Economy. Gig economy. Gig economy. We're doing little side projects, whatever that is. But you're. You got skills. Put those skills to use and then see what you can do around the gym. Form that relationship. By the way, all these things, good relationship stuff. Butcher. Butcher has leftover cuts, dude, sometimes they want to get rid of. You know, if they got your number, you come by, pay half price, you know what I'm saying? Build some relationships. People used to just barter for things. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko Underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen, go to jockounderground.com and subscribe. And we're doing this. We're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control. And we are doing this so that we can support the Jocko podcast, which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way. But we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control of sponsors. And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us. And to do that, we're building a website right now where we'll be able to utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us. So thank you. It's Jocko underground.com it costs $8.18 a month. And if you can't afford to support us, we can still support you. Just email assistance@jocko underground.com and we'll get you taken care of. Until then, we will see you mobilized Underground.
Date: November 24, 2025
Hosts: Jocko Willink & Echo Charles
Theme: How to maintain discipline, intense training, and proper nutrition on a tight budget; creative strategies for money management and personal growth.
This episode centers on practical advice for young, driven individuals navigating challenging financial situations, especially those juggling work, schooling, and athletic or martial arts aspirations. Jocko and Echo answer a listener’s question about sustaining a disciplined lifestyle, high-level training, and nutrition while on a budget. Their guidance blends resourceful money-saving ideas, leveraging personal skills for extra income, and the value of relationships and bartering.
"Ground beef rice. You can buy huge sacks of rice... Seasoning of your choice. Ground beef, some salt and pepper… I put spaghetti sauce… you can put whatever kind of sauce, soy sauce if you want. Whatever… But that's the base." – Echo (02:16)
"Butcher has leftover cuts, dude, sometimes they want to get rid of... you come by, pay half price, you know what I'm saying? Build some relationships." – Jocko (07:20)
“You can do a few hundred dollars in tips… Friday and Saturday night, that’s 600 bones.” – Echo (06:15)
"Sometimes you got to backtrack a little bit." – Echo (00:27) "Which is no problem." – Echo (00:27)
“I'm okay living simply, but I'm struggling to afford training and quality food. My diet has been a key part of my progress…” – Listener’s message (00:38)
“There’s a ton of side gigs you can do. Hustle. What do they call it? No, they don't call it hustle… Gig economy. We're doing little side projects…” – Jocko (07:28)
Jocko and Echo reinforce that staying disciplined—physically, financially, and mentally—is always possible with strategy and hustle, regardless of budget constraints. Embracing simplicity, resourcefulness, and relationships can keep you on “the path” even when money is tight. Their advice is a blend of tough-love practicality and community-minded support.
For more focused, actionable guidance, or to explore the Jocko Underground community, visit jockounderground.com.