January is famous for its sales. If I said to you that there was a sale at a local store with 50%, 60% even 70% off, chances are you would get down there sharpish. Particularly if the shop sold clothes or electrical goods. However, buying a new flat screen or the latest fashion does little for your net worth; they provide a short lived euphoric rush but lose their value as fast as their appeal.

What if I told you that there is a sale happing now, the like of which has never been seen in our lifetimes? Furthermore, this sale allows you to buy assets that are, in our opinion, set to appreciate significantly, thus increasing your net worth.

2008 was disastrous for many of the world economies. Sparked by the collapse of mortgage backed securities and the real estate market in the USA, stock markets around the worlds plummeted in value. Many investors panicked and sold their portfolios forcing the markets to levels last seen at the turn of the century.

This means that shares in many excellent, good quality companies are for sale at rock bottom prices. It follows that mutual funds investing in these companies are also very cheap.

Are you expecting a tax refund? If so, you should seriously consider snapping up some of these bargains. if you buy within a RRSP, the investments will grow tax free until you withdraw the cash. Furthermore, if you buy before the 1st of March you can deduct the cost of the RRSP from your 2008 tax return!

Another method of taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity is to take a RRSP loan to top up your RRSP to the limit. Then use the refund to pay down the principal on the loan. Yet another advantage of the times we are in is that interest rates are very low. So, to summarise, you can borrow cheap money to buy bargains which will result in lowering your tax bill or provide a refund. The assets you purchase are set to appreciate significantly as the market recovers over the next few years. Inside a RRSP your earnings will compound tax free.

You can also use your refund to take advantage of the brand new Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). You can invest up to $5000 per year in a TFSA and again earnings compound tax free. The other feature of a TFSA is that when you withdraw cash there is no tax to pay. Unlike RRSPs, money invested into a TFSA is not tax deductible.

Now is the time to start planning. Extract information from your last pay stub of 2008, in lieu of your T4, to pre-complete your tax return. This will give you an idea of the tax owing/refund you can expect. You can then decide exactly how to proceed in order to take best advantage of this unique opportunity.

Why not make things even easier for yourself and let FINTEG do it for you. FINTEG is a new financial services company dedicated to helping you manage your finances. Tax preparation, mutual funds, RRSPs, TFSAs, accounting services and debt reconstruction all come under the FINTEG umbrella and, once more, the company is run by British expats.