If you are looking for the best return possible than your going to want to check out the real estate market. There is no better time to flip a house than right now. The buying market is low, so this will make your initial investment a lot lower than you planned. Another perk with real estate investing is that you can hold onto your investment you can do so until it is a buyers market again.
If you are looking for an investment that isn't going to leave your with extra cash and a hollow feeling than, real estate flipping is right up your alley. When you flip a house you buy a property that needs work. The properties that require the work sell for a lot cheaper so you have the extra investment money to put towards any materials that you need to make the house sales worthy. There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than knowing that you worked on something, and than sold it and made a lot of money.