美联储为提振房地产市场和经济体系而压低利率的努力，有一个不幸的副产品，即掏空储户的收益，包括那些用存款利息和短期证券收益来贴补微薄社保退休金的人们。但要在当前利率水平上购买长期国债，希望获得更高投资收益，显然非常危险。

    至于海外股票和外汇，难道你愿意持有前景不明的欧元吗？你能搞清楚欧洲到底是什么情况吗？或者说，你愿意和欧洲央行打交道？那我只能祝你好远——你比我勇敢。明富环球金融（MF Global）的乔恩•科尔辛确实勇敢，但代价惨重。

    还有大宗商品——是的，当你看到人人都在买卖黄金，这波市场差不多已经要结束了。如果你有一个时光机器，能以三年前的价格买入大宗商品，它们会是非常棒的投资。但以今天的价格来看可就不怎么样了。

    说过了不要投资什么，那么我的投资理念是什么？很简单。对于那些经历过超级明星投资经理的辉煌以及1982年8月至2000年3月间美国股市每年回报率20%的时期的人来说，我的投资理念毫不出彩。

    去年，我愚蠢地投资过一支一度火爆的股票共同基金。如今我奉行平淡投资。我在一只只地买入派息的美国蓝筹股。有些是跨国公司，能让我分享到海外经济的快速增长并对冲我的美元风险。（但是我不会告诉你我买入的是哪些公司）。我在寻找“一垒安打”，而不是“全垒打”。我的“一垒安打”组合迄今为止亏损不大，适合我，因为我能承担这样的风险。你必须自己判断它是否适合你。

    这绝非什么创新策略。事实上，在本期《财富》杂志的《2012年最佳股票推荐》（The Best Stocks for 2012）一文中，你可以看到一份《财富》杂志认为低估的大盘股名单，这些股票很多都支付丰厚的派息。简单乏味，但眼下这一策略对我而言是管用的。它给我带来了一些收益——而且这样的组合也能让我在晚上睡得着觉。

    The Fed's attempts to force down interest rates to revive housing and the general economy have an unfortunate byproduct: eviscerating the income of savers, such as retirees who supplemented their Social Security checks with income from CDs and short-term securities. But shooting for higher income by buying long-term securities at current interest levels is incredibly dangerous.

    As for foreign stocks and currencies: You want to deal with the instability of the euro? Try to figure out what goes on in Europe? Or with the European Central Bank? Good luck -- you're braver than I am. Jon Corzine was real brave at MF Global, which didn't work out too well.

    And commodities -- well, when you see gold being marketed everywhere, the game's pretty much over. If you had a time machine and could buy commodities at what they fetched three years ago, they'd be a great investment. At today's prices, not so much.

    Now that I've said what not to do, what's my investment idea? It's simple. And it's totally not exciting for those of us who enjoyed the days of superstar money managers and a U.S. market that returned 20% a year from August 1982 through March of 2000.

    After having foolishly put money into a once-hot stock mutual fund last year, I'm now into boring. I'm buying individual blue-chip U.S. stocks that pay dividends. Some are multinationals, which give me exposure to rapidly growing foreign economies and hedge my dollar risk. (And, no, I won't give you any names.) I'm looking for singles, not home runs. My seeking-singles portfolio, which has produced a small loss thus far, is appropriate for me because I can afford the risk. You have to determine whether it's appropriate for you.

    This isn't exactly an original approach. In fact, in "The Best Stocks for 2012" later in this issue, you can find a list of big-company stocks that Fortune considers undervalued, many of which pay enticing dividends. Simple and boring, for now, is what works for me. It gives me some income -- and a portfolio that lets me sleep at night.