Hey there,

Joel Gibson here, your WhistleOut Savings Specialist. The Black Friday sales aren’t just about Christmas shopping and buying that new pair of sneakers you’ve been saving up for.

They’re now a clever way to save BIG on the essentials too.

The sales have become so big that everyone from utilities (yes, including telco), to car manufacturers and supermarkets are getting in on the act, so if you’re a savvy money-saver you can save hundreds on your household bills.

Watch the video and keep reading for the money-saving links.

Cheers,

TELCOS

"Switching is so easy, there really isn't a reason to stay on a more expensive plan."

Check out the WhistleOut site to see the best deals on mobile and internet plans and devices as they drop, but already we’ve seen these examples:

• Optus offering up to $800 off Google and Samsung phones, 

• Vodafone offering 20% off its 50GB SIM-only mobile plan

• Telstra offering up to $800 off Google phones,

• Exetel offering up to $114 off NBN plans,

• Superloop offering up to $264 off NBN plans,

• TPG and iiNet offering $60-$90 off internet plans, and

• Buddy Telco offering up to $60 off plans over 6 months.

Here's how you can switch mobile providers and keep your phone number and a step-by-step guide when switching internet providers. 

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE ITEMS

"If you can claim a purchase on tax, you can save twice."

There are hundreds of discounts on tech, furniture and other products that could be tax-deductible if you work from home for some or all of the week.

Check out the sales at places like Officeworks, Temple & Webster, JB Hi-Fi and Kogan - and of course, don’t forget some or all of your telco costs might be deductible too!

The rules for home office tax deductions are that you must:

• be working from home to fulfil your employment duties, not just carrying out minimal tasks, such as occasionally checking emails or taking call
• incur additional running expenses as a result of working from home

• have records that show you incur these expenses.

The ATO has handy guides for each industry that give you clues to what you can and can’t claim. Did you know that salespeople can claim gifts they give to clients, for example? Or that flight crew can claim moisturiser and conditioner? They might want to score up to 50% off in the Chemist Warehouse sale starting 27 November.

SUPERMARKETS

"Even supermarkets are getting into the sales, because they want us to do our big Christmas shop with them." 

For the average household, the Christmas food shop is almost as big as a whole week’s grocery spend.

So Woolies is offering 50% off their Everyday Extra annual plan, which for $35 a year gets you 10% off one shop at Woolworths and Big W each month, up to $50 per shop (useful for that big Chirstmas shop). 

Coles is offering dozens of half-price specials that are “online only” in the weeks leading up to Black Friday - also handy for Christmas shopping or just stocking up on cleaning products and toiletries.

And OnePass is also 50% off at the moment - that’s the delivery subscription for Kmart, Target, Catch, Bunnings, Officeworks, and Priceline. For $20 a year, you get free delivery and extra Flybuys points from those retailers - very handy pre-Christmas.

Of course, all the supermarket catalogues are full of Christmas-related specials too so check them out online.

Happy bargain hunting! Just remember that the idea is to use the sales to pay less for the things you were going to buy anyhow, not to buy things that you never realised you needed.