????美聯儲為提振房地產市場和經濟體系而壓低利率的努力，有一個不幸的副產品，即掏空儲戶的收益，包括那些用存款利息和短期證券收益來貼補微薄社保退休金的人們。但要在當前利率水平上購買長期國債，希望獲得更高投資收益，顯然非常危險。

????至于海外股票和外匯，難道你愿意持有前景不明的歐元嗎？你能搞清楚歐洲到底是什么情況嗎？或者說，你愿意和歐洲央行打交道？那我只能祝你好遠——你比我勇敢。明富環球金融（MF Global）的喬恩?科爾辛確實勇敢，但代價慘重。

????還有大宗商品——是的，當你看到人人都在買賣黃金，這波市場差不多已經要結束了。如果你有一個時光機器，能以三年前的價格買入大宗商品，它們會是非常棒的投資。但以今天的價格來看可就不怎么樣了。

????說過了不要投資什么，那么我的投資理念是什么？很簡單。對于那些經歷過超級明星投資經理的輝煌以及1982年8月至2000年3月間美國股市每年回報率20%的時期的人來說，我的投資理念毫不出彩。

????去年，我愚蠢地投資過一支一度火爆的股票共同基金。如今我奉行平淡投資。我在一只只地買入派息的美國藍籌股。有些是跨國公司，能讓我分享到海外經濟的快速增長并對沖我的美元風險。（但是我不會告訴你我買入的是哪些公司）。我在尋找“一壘安打”，而不是“全壘打”。我的“一壘安打”組合迄今為止虧損不大，適合我，因為我能承擔這樣的風險。你必須自己判斷它是否適合你。

????這絕非什么創新策略。事實上，在本期《財富》雜志的《2012年最佳股票推薦》（The Best Stocks for 2012）一文中，你可以看到一份《財富》雜志認為低估的大盤股名單，這些股票很多都支付豐厚的派息。簡單乏味，但眼下這一策略對我而言是管用的。它給我帶來了一些收益——而且這樣的組合也能讓我在晚上睡得著覺。

????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.