re: Where to invest for income

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I have $475,000 in a 5 year CD with 4 years to maturity. It earns 2.25% annually. The penalty for early withdrawal is 2 quarters of interest. I would like to have more income off of this amount of money. I have been waiting for interest rates on tax free municipal bonds to go up but it looks like that might not happen anytime soon. What do you smart investors suggest? I can't afford much risk. Is there anything better than what I have now?

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Or if you don't have to touch the principle for awhile, look at some solid dividend paying stocks.
Just depends. Can get income from rental properties, but may be some expenses to be incurred if you can't do routine maintenance yourself. Not to mention pain in arse. If you don't overpay for the properties, you get to depreciate them even if they gain value with time. Not hard to beat 2.25% especially after you pay income tax on it. Could look at tax free muni's and compare your after tax return against what you'd get.