10 ways to make real money

It's tough to find bargains in bonds. The spread between Treasury yields and other fixed-income securities, which had widened to record levels, is almost back to normal. One exception: The spread between Treasuries and preferred stock -- a part bond, part equity hybrid -- is still 44% higher than usual. Even if preferred prices go nowhere in a slow-growth economy, you'd still pocket yields of about 7%.

How to invest: Given how volatile these shares can be relative to bonds, buy them through a diversified fund. Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments, says the iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index fund offers an attractive yield of 6.9%, yet most of its holdings are actually investment grade. Another solid choice is PowerShares Preferred, yielding 7.2%, which spreads its bets among nearly 70 issues.

What could go wrong: Should the economy slump more than expected, preferreds could lose more in price than they yield. They could also run into trouble if growth accelerates dramatically because many are long-maturity securities that are especially vulnerable to losses when rates rise, says Donald Crumrine, chairman of the investment firm Flaherty & Crumrine, which specializes in preferreds.

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