Nuffnang Coles Group & Myer: How Do You Turn $10 into $100?

When I saw that Nuffnang was having a shopping competition, I was instantly attracted.

When I saw that the competition was associated with The Coles Group & Myer, I immediately joined.

When I saw the $10 Gift Card in my mailbox a few days later, I was suddenly . . . at Chadstone Shopping Center. Strange.

I am talking about the Nuffnang Coles Group and Myer: How do you turn $10 into $100 competition. There are two challenges in this competition:

1: To spend the money most creatively

2: To spend the money most frugally

Not very hard tasks considering both Coles and Myer are always crazy on quality, value and selection. In more specific terms, surprising sale prices, endless varieties of brands and satisfied customers.

After thinking for some time I decided to spend this $10 on someone else - to put a smile someone's face.

With my family being back in Malaysia, I owe a lot of people birthday presents. Seeing how this list just keeps on growing and tired of empty promises like "Your birthday present will be sent to you soon!" to cousins as young as 2 years old, I was convinced this competition was a wake-up call for me to start shopping for people other than myself.

Determined and motivated, I started looking at my shopping list:

1) Shiro's birthday

Shiro, my Japanese Spitz, turned 1 year old (in dog years) last Friday. Instead of 'Happy Birthday Shiro', the day started with "No pee-pee on floor Shirooooo!". Instead of a happy trip to the pet store, Shiro was traumatised by a giant Alaskan Malamute. Poor birthday boy.

Given the "No pee-pee on floor Shiroooo!" incident in the morning, this was hugely tempting.

Or maybe I should buy 5 cans of this tough-looking dog food and turn Shiro into the next giant Alaskan Malamute!

2) Grandma's birthday

Grandma is a chocoholic. Trust me, for someone who always complains about not being able to see well, the last time she visited me in Melbourne, she said, "Is that the Cadbury building oooooooover there?" when the building was as big as a grain of rice and "Wow, that building looks like a huge chunk of chocolate in a gold wrapper" at the sight of Eureka Tower.



Go for variety?

Go for her favourite?


Go for her good ol' friend Cadbury since it is on sale . . .


. . . oh gosh, Cadbury's brothers are all on sale. Decisions decisions.

I decided to stroll to Myer for a brainstorm before making my final decision. Many people assume that Myer offers only expensive items given the presentation of their stores, the poshly dressed mannequins and the sparkling cosmetic parlours. But let me in on a secret, I once bought Mother's Day presents for my Mum and two aunties of mine at the expenditure of less than $27. To me, shopping in Myer is like a treasure hunt. There are surprising deals everywhere.

3) Sister's birthday

My sister is becoming a fashionista. She even started a blogshop with some friends two weeks ago. My sister is also very demanding. She loves attention from me and would sulk whenever I give her presents like say, an eraser. I never liked how her wardrobe is always dominated by black. So I found a perfect top for her . . .


. . . at the perfect price for me!

4) Aunt Fun's birthday

It has been ages since I have met her. She is a woman of huge earrings, chunky necklaces and animal prints. She also cooks the meanest Chinese dishes and brings out the glutton in me, every single time. As I am typing this post, I am thinking of her Deep Fried Prawns mmmm.


An amazing Miss Shop bag with snake print which looks $100.

5) Cousin Ivy

This cousin of mine loves everything shiny, sparkly and glittery. She even called herself 'Bling Bling Ivy' at one point. She just turned 17 two weeks ago (it means that I just used another
"Your birthday present will be sent to you soon!" two weeks ago!). The last time she visited me in Melbourne, she wanted to get a new pencil case. A pencil case or a cosmetic case, since someone's definitely growing into a fine young lady.


Look at the happy price :-)

6) Iris's birthday present

Iris is a childhood friend of mine. The nicest and girly-est girl ever. It was her birthday two weeks ago and I was not able to be there to celebrate with her sigh. I saw the prettiest necklace ever which made me immediately think, "Iris" :-)



7) Mum's present

Mum has gone through trauma after trauma lately. Being not an animal person, she was surprised with my "I just got a puppy over here in Melbourne, Mum!" and later further surprised with Dad and my sister's "We just got a puppy at our home, Mum!". She deserves a present. Being a pyjama person, she will be delighted if she sees this. I'll attach a card saying, "The material is as soft as Shiro".




8) Dad's present

My Dad loves wearing shorts at home as he hates feeling hot and sweats like there is no tomorrow. The weather in Malaysia is torturing him, apparently. What is more perfect than a matching pair of pyjama shorts for him? Yeah yeah, I know I got it from the ladies department but hey, with the right size and in a cool shade of black, who care if it was in polka dots. My Dad can be cute too!



9) Raymond's present

As a thank you to the man who has stuck with me through thick and thin (my thighs), the bad economy, disastrous hairstyles, frustration-laden days and everything in life. As a thank you to the man with visible signs of dryness around his lips.

This is perfect as it doesn't look like a lipstick (nothing threatening his image) and it has a fruity taste (subdues his craving for sweet stuffs).

10) YiMa's (Aunt) birthday

My YiMa is an advocate of beauty. She can sit in front of her vanity dresser for an hour-long of toning, moisturising ang massaging. She loves cosmetics, skincare, aromatherapy . . . anything nicely packaged and smells nice and promises results for her skin. I found the perfect gift for her. Despite having about 3 different kinds of shower gels and exfoliating creams, she has never had anything as fun as Butter Bath Fizzers!

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Look at all the amazing under $10 deals I found in Myer and Coles. Ah, isn't life amazing?

Look at the important decision of who to spend it on I have to make. Oh, no.

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In the end, I went back home with the Disposable Mats, a pack of Chicken Mini Treats and a can of Real Chicken - all for Shiro! Well well well, the Disposable Mats were a necessity to properly toilet train Shiro. Oh, the treats are necessary to help Shiro learn new tricks so that I can post more videos here. And and and. . . Shiro is just so-o-o-o-o cute.

But believe me, it was a very close call as everyone is equally. Really.

It would be great to win that $100 from this competition so that I can make every single one of you on my list happy and me less guilty for this TOUGH decision I had no choice but to make. And publish here.

Should any of you still feel unhappy with my decision, please:

1) Pray that I win the $100. (Yay!)

2) Stare at this adorable picture of Shiro learning to walk on a leash with the help of the treats I bought!