Category: Product Reviews

My Peloton: 2 Year Check-In

This week marks 2 years since I downloaded the Peloton app with my non-Peloton bike and decided to give this cycling thing a try. I didn’t realize at the time that Peloton offered so much more than riding a bike and not going anywhere, which is why I went ahead and upgraded to an official Peloton bike about 6 months later!

If you want to catch up with any of my previous My Peloton posts, you can find them all here:

So, now is the perfect time for a 2-year update.

I think the most obvious question is: do I still use my Peloton or has it become a rack for clothing? I mean, that’s what we all imagine when we purchase a piece of exercise equipment. Sure, it’s kind of fun at first but eventually it just sits around taking up space and holding up dust.

YES, I am still using my Peloton bike. In fact, here are my latest stats:

I’ve done over 300 cycling classes over the last 2 years. But it’s not JUST cycling. I’ve also done a ton of meditation, stretching, strength, yoga and even walking outside with my husband. I’ve also completed a couple different programs, including: Arms with Tunde (a 4-week strength training arm workout program) and Crush Your Core with Emma (a 4-week core strength program).

I’ve kept up with my daily Peloton streak since when I first started using the app in December 2020. Every single day, I do something on the Peloton and currently have a 105-week streak going with 949 total workouts.

Things that have helped my workouts:

  • Switching out my Peloton bike shoes to these shoes: Shimano Indoor Cycling shoes. You can read my blog post review of them here: Upgrading my Peloton Bike Shoes to Shimano
  • Having a full set of neoprene dumbbells (these are great). I have dumbbells in 2lbs, 3lbs, 5lbs, 8lbs and 10lbs and use them all doing various exercises. You would think a 2lb dumbbell is silly… until you are working that thing on one of Tunde’s strength classes!
  • The Pivot. I bought The Pivot for my Peloton screen when I moved my exercise set-up into my office. It allows my entire screen to flip around so that I can do my weights and yoga sessions in the open space in the middle of the room, which greatly improved my workout experience. You can read the blog post where I talked about it here: My Office/Exercise Room Hybrid.
  • Just doing SOMETHING. I don’t want to mess up my streak, so even if I’m not feeling up for much, I give myself the gift of doing even a 5-minute meditation and taking some time to myself.

With all that being said, I do have a goal to increase my cycling days. Ideally, I’d like to cycle 3 days each week. Maybe even more. However, it just hasn’t fit into life lately. So there is always room for improvement!

If you’re a Peloton rider, you can find me on the leaderboard at JoulesGetsFit.

If you are looking to purchase a Peloton, shoot me an email at pocketfulofjoules@gmail.com and I can send you a special referral code to get you money off your purchase!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

A Skinny Christmas Tree for Our Skinny Space

A quickie bonus blog post today, because I ordered a skinny Christmas tree and I love it! Our old tree served us well for a decade or so, but last year half the lights gave up. I replaced them with new strands, but it was pretty clear it was time to upgrade our tree.

Our previous tree was a ‘regular-sized’ tree, but we only had a little sliver of space to shove it into. So I would purposely arrange the limbs in the back of the tree to fold up, so I could get it as far into the little corner as possible.

In searching for a new tree, I wanted a skinny version. So I searched Home Depot, Target, and Amazon for both “skinny Christmas trees” and “pencil Christmas trees.” I finally pulled the trigger last week and our new tree arrived on Friday. I put it up over the weekend, and it is PERFECT for our little bit of space.

It is the: Puleo International 7.5 Foot Pre-Lit Fraser Fir Pencil Artificial Christmas Tree with 350 UL Listed Clear Lights. The prices are fluctuating wildly, so I wanted to share this ASAP for any of you who are looking for a skinny tree. The ‘original’ price is marked as $269.99, but it has been flip flopping everywhere from $100 – $140 in the last few days.

I put it up a bit early (I typically do our tree after Thanksgiving) so I could make sure it worked well and fit the space. I can’t wait to put the ornaments on it next week!

Disclaimer: This post contains am Amazon affiliate link. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Quickie Money Saving Tip: Save Money on Bills Just by Asking

After basically hemorrhaging money over the past few months for our bathroom renovation, I’m in savings mode again. And yes, I know the holidays are coming up. But for the moment, I’m trying to take a closer look at our normal expenses and see where we can make improvements.

Which brings me to a blog post I wrote back in 2014, called How I Saved $2,277.60… Just By Asking. It may be one of the most helpful blog posts I’ve ever written in 11+ years of blogging, so click through and check it out.

Really. Go read it. I’ll wait.

Okay, so after reminding myself how I saved money last time… I decided to pull up my credit card statement and made a list of my reoccurring charges.

Everything from school before/after care (could I cut back days?), to Kindle Unlimited (do I really need it when I’m using the library, Overdrive and Hoopla?). I reviewed our car insurance policy, checked on the current prices and promotions for streaming services, and decided where we need to trim the fat a bit.

Did I cut everything fun? NOPE. Not at all.

But I did think about whether I was still getting the enjoyment out of our $7.41 monthly Discovery + streaming service (yes, we are). So, this way I’m making more proactive decisions, rather than just ignoring them and letting them auto-renew for all of eternity.

As a result of this review, I decided to make a few changes and try them out for the rest of the year. By giving myself a couple months to get accustomed to the small cut-backs, I can look at everything with clear eyes in January.

Another Ask

You may have noticed that I occasionally share Amazon Associates links when I’m reviewing or recommending an item here on Pocketful of Joules. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases… which means that clicking on an affiliate link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you. And I do mean small, but it does add up over time to help pay for the annual blog hosting fees I pay.

I went through my Amazon orders for the last couple years, as well as items I’ve recommended and made a special Pocketful of Joules Favorites List. If you click through and buy anything on the list, OR if you click through my list and then go elsewhere to make your needed Amazon purchases, I may earn a small affiliate commission.

If you’re planning on shopping anyways, I’d really appreciate it!

You can find the Pocketful of Joules Favorites List here: https://amzn.to/3s6voAn Every single thing on the list is something that I currently own, use and would recommend. If you have any questions about individual item recommendations, just let me know and I’ll give you my feedback!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.