Fun facts and stories

Prize winner stories - real people, real winners, real millionaires

* The views and opinions expressed through the winner stories do not necessarily reflect the views of Bonus Bonds.

April 2010, Taupo

My son had been saving for a couple of years for a car but, like most teenagers, was finding this very difficult with having easy access to his money through an ATM card so I decided to invest it for him in Bonus Bonds. On the third month of having Bonus Bonds a letter arrived saying he had won $5,020. Thanks to Bonus Bonds he will be able to afford a car much better than he had ever hoped for.

March 2010, Whanganui

We bought Bonus Bonds just 3 months ago and we won $20 which we thought was fantastic. Then later the courier turns up with a letter from Dunedin, I thought who is this from, as I don't know anyone from Dunedin. When I finally opened it and read the words "you have won one million dollars", I thought yeah right, whatever, what do I have to buy, until I turned it over and saw the letterhead. Well needless to say you could have knocked me down with a feather. It has taken quite a while to get used to it, and accept being a millionaire, and I must admit now that I have it's a great feeling, the kids seem quite happy with the idea as well, so thanks Bonus Bonds. It goes to show it takes only one draw to win (best investment we ever made).

February 2010, Manukau

I purchased $40 worth of Bonus Bonds as a 19 year old, for the very 1st draw in 1970. Whilst buying them at the Chief Post Office in Downtown Auckland, I ran into an older family friend by chance who had also just purchased some. We talked about winning the $10,000 1st prize and what we would spend it on. I was at work when the 1st draw was broadcast on the radio. When the 1st prize number was read out, I thought that it sounded the same as mine. I immediately rushed home from work to check my ticket only to discover that I had missed by 20 numbers. It was several months later that the family friend I had met while buying my Bonus Bonds revealed to us that he had indeed won the 1st prize. I married early in 1971 and one of our most treasured wedding gifts, given to us by the winner, was a Noritake dinner set that we still have and use. Thus, I too was also a winner of the first ever 1st prize draw.

August 2009, Auckland

We had purchased our first ever house and didn't have much money left over. We found out that the roof needed fixing as it had asbestos in it and that was going to cost $4,000. I had completed a Bonus Bonds application for $50 and then guess what, I received notification that I had won $5,000 in Bonus Bonds, yeah. $4,000 for the roof and $1,000 for me. Yipee.

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Do you have a fun story or anecdote about Bonus Bonds?

Have you won a prize with Bonus Bonds you bought years ago? Have you spent your winnings on something really fun or special? Perhaps you've had a good experience when you received Bonus Bonds as a gift or bought them for someone else? We'd like to hear any Bonus Bonds stories that you'd like to share and we might even put them on this website so that you can share your experience with others (keeping your details confidential of course).

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