Insurance salespeople are very busy pushing a variety of "can't lose" investments these days. The insurance company essentially promises to underwrite the fact that you will never lose you're your cash. This idea is particularly appealing at a time when people are drowning in the market.

But these kind of investments are dangerous on so many levels. First, they come with massive expenses and commissions. Second, when you read through the contract, you'll be amazed how often the guarantee doesn't apply to you.

Instead, there is a self-serve method to do the same thing. Clark last addressed it in January 2009, but the investment ratios have since changed.

Today, a wise breakout of your money would be to take 25% and put it in stocks and take the remaining 75% and put it in CDs. By doing this, you don't have to worry about losing money, yet you're able to participate in any market gains. This is a great approach for those people who want to sleep at night!

But note that this is a very dynamic approach that needs tweaking from time to time; when interest rates go up again, the ratio will change.

As always, Clark's favorite choice for getting in the stock market remains a "plain vanilla" simple index fund.