[istari]

The real choice isn't between stocks, cds, mutual funds, etc. It's between conventional and unconventional investing.

The conventional route is easy and standard. Emergency funds in a bank, set up a schedule to buy index funds automatically, put the rest into CDs.

The unconventional route is real estate or business. 30%, 50%, or more is possible, and even easy, once you discover the way. But you have to find the way yourself, overcoming obstacles, inertia, and common wisdom.

For example, I learned how to buy foreclosures at courthouse auctions and resell them. 30-50% in 6 months. People doing real estate transactions regularly pay out over 15% for hard money loans secured by real estate.

Hacker News is great for learning how to create a business. Go to biggerpockets.com for real estate ideas.