EVERYTHING MUST go! Fifty per cent off. Sale, sale, sale. These slogans are familiar to the thousands of Irish shoppers who regularly swarm like bees to America's great shopping cities - New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. It's no wonder they travel Stateside.

What's better than watching greenbacks spill from your wallet to pay for designer clothes costing three times as much in Ireland? Yes, it's truly bargain bliss in Discount America.

Now that the dollar has taken a further dip - down to nearly $1.54 to the euro yesterday - more expensive, longer-lasting items are starting to look very tasty indeed. Americans have lost their way in the deep, dark woods and, while they hunt for the breadcrumbs to lead them home, cash-rich foreigners are snapping up their inexpensive shares and property.

So, how can ordinary shoppers like us learn from the bargain hunters and buy a piece of the American pie? The same principles - finding quality goods for sale at a fraction of their real value - still apply whether you are buying shirts, shoes, currency, stocks or property. Independent research and local knowledge are also key to a successful shopping experience.

Let's start with budget shopping. If your investment amount is limited - and you think dollars are as cheap as they're going to get - stock up on a couple of grand now. When the dollar improves against the euro you'll have bagged yourself a little bargain in the foreign exchange transaction. Just make sure you buy your dollars from a provider offering the lowest rates and charges (or negotiate them downwards) or they'll be the only ones to profit from the transaction.

Gambling types might like to take a punt on the direction of the dollar - up or down, not sideways - through one of the many Irish spread betting services. If you made the correct bet, the profits are tax-free but if you looked in the wrong direction, you'll make a loss.

Those of us who prefer investments that feel more tangible, like owning part of a business, might like the US stock market as a bet, or "play", on the weak currency. This investment choice takes some cash, a willingness to take risks and the patience to invest long term.

Professional stock market watchers are split on whether or not there is any value left in the US market. America has been on sale for quite some time, they say. Think of Manhattan's Century 21 or Boston's Filene's Basement after a sale and you'll get the picture.

There's not much left and what remains is badly made, soiled or last year's fashion.

Even some American commentators, that optimistic breed, are predicting a Doomsday scenario that sees the United States return to a 1970s recession or even - don't say it out loud - a 1930s depression. Thankfully, the majority believe a depression is unlikely; still, everyone is questioning the speed of an American recovery.

Members of the Apocalypse Now brigade will find the United States a wasted day's shopping so they're better off seeking great deals elsewhere.

Believers in a happy ending for the American dream may choose to invest in the market through individual shares or pool their money with others in an American equity fund.

Choosing your shares is the hard part. One Irish analyst I spoke to thinks financial companies might offer some value. Why? Well, banks and other financial companies have been hit hard by the credit crunch (money isn't as easy to borrow), sub-prime mortgage crisis (people were sold mortgages they couldn't really afford) and the falling currency (Uncle Sam is a weakling). Therefore these companies' share prices are low, their bad news is already out in the public domain and it's highly unlikely the US's current situation will last forever.

In general, he said, many well-known American companies are the "best in breed and best in class" so they'll also do well over time.

Another Irish equity watcher, however, wouldn't touch the US stock market; he prefers to invest in Asian economies that are linked to the dollar. He thinks there's more chance of profit in fast-growing Asian economies.

Residential property is the one place that analysts are, almost universally, saying you can pick up an US bargain.

Wouldn't you love an apartment in Manhattan where you can rest after those shopping sprees? Or a ski resort condo in Lake Tahoe and a summer golf retreat in South Carolina?

Thanks to the currency difference almost anything is possible for foreigners investing in the US - if you have wads of cash, research it yourself, ask loads of questions and choose very, very carefully.

Margaret E. Ward is a journalist and director of Clear Ink, the clear English specialists. cents@clearink.ie