(Business 2.0) – Sometimes it seems as though every pearl of investment wisdom is uttered in one of two languages: growth or value, high risk or low. As if there were only two possible strategies, handed off from one financial adviser to the next, year after year after year.

Most of us pick a path and simply plod along, looking for signposts that might indicate where the market is headed. War brewing in the Middle East? Buy energy stocks. One of the Asian Tigers devaluing its currency? Dump overseas mutual funds. But lately the nebulous "soft economic recovery" is making market navigation even trickier, and the longer it lasts, the harder it will be to spot strategic opportunities--much less choose between them.

So why not take a break from those anguished vigils over investments that won't pay off for years? If you're diligently funding your 401(k) and watching your S&P 500 index fund work its compound-growth magic, chances are you'll be fine in the end. In the meantime, why not live in the moment, and live richly? To that end, we've uncovered a wealth of investment opportunities designed to start generating returns right away. Some are long-term tactics, others short-term plays, but they all have one thing in common: They throw off a steady flow of cold, hard cash. Because growth is good, and value is great, but neither does much for you at Best Buy when you're trying to bring home a 60-inch plasma with surround sound. For that, as with so much else, cash is still king. Here's how to round out your portfolio to bring in more of it.