Since you’re both gainfully employed and not currently burdened with financing an offspring’s 4-6 year stay at an Ivy League school, there’s a strong chance you’re stashing away large sums of cash for retirement in a savings account somewhere. Money that, while safe from market meltdowns, isn’t safe from the inexorable erosion of inflation and devaluation. And if you expect to retire to some Caribbean island, you probably shouldn’t leave it there.

With inflation running about 1.6% annually and most savings accounts paying an insulting 0.15% interest, banks are all but guaranteeing that anything else you do with the money—short of burning it—will be better. And right now, you’re losing buying power at a rate of 1.45% a year.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can make your money work harder for you, like real estate, T-bills, CDs, gold, collectibles like wine, artwork, comic books, and a host of other investment options.

Yet for most couples, the stock market offers the most convenience, liquidity and highest returns. But how can you be sure you choose the next Amazon or Google and not the next Enron or WorldCom? It’s easy, just don’t choose.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you let someone else choose stocks for you. Or that you just throw a dart (even though studies suggest that both approaches are equally effective). And I’m certainly not suggesting you invest in mutual funds when about 85% of actively managed funds fail to beat the market. No, instead, I’m suggesting that you keep reading.