The most basic technique for curbing stock market risk in your portfolio is to enlarge your holdings of paper that pays a fixed rate of interest for a defined term to maturity.

Start with the safest vehicles of all: FDIC-insured bank money market accounts and CDs.

One of the few pleasant results of the ongoing credit crunch is that banks, in a scramble for deposits, are paying much higher yields than the U.S. Treasury.

For example, you can earn around 2% on a money market account with no minimum balance at Virginia's Capital One Bank (800/564-7426 or www.capitalone.com) with free check writing.

Don't need the funds immediately? Consider a CD at GMAC Bank (866/246-2265 or www.gmacbank.com).

For a six-month term, the bank is offering 2.6%. The rate goes up to 3% at the one-year mark, and you can even nail down 3.5% for five years if you don't mind locking up your money that long. Minimum deposit: $500. (New to investing? Learn how to build a fortune from scratch here.)

Investment #2: TIPS

Depending on how passionately you feel about safety, you might keep the majority of your fixed income kitty in bank accounts. However, there are advantages to tiptoeing out on the risk spectrum…