What is the best way I can invest $1,000 for one year?

Here's a sampling of what $1,000 can do, culled from the July 2006 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Get your creativity flowing. Then enter our contest for the best way to spend or invest a grand.

Think big
Neuberger Berman Partners (symbol NPRTX; 800-877-9700) is one of the best large-company funds, investing in both growth and value stocks. Its 8% annualized total return over the past five years to May 1 clocks Standard & Poor's 500-stock index by five percentage points per year. Minimum investment: $1,000.

Think hot
Excelsior Emerging Markets (UMEMX; 800-446-1012) is on fire. Over the past five years, it returned an annualized 25%, beating 70% of emerging-markets funds. Manager Donald Elefson has more than half of assets in Asia. Minimum investment: $500.

Profit from stuff
Commodity prices are rising (as you know if you have filled your gas tank lately). But you can make the trend your friend by investing in the new DB Commodity Index Tracking exchange-traded fund (DBC; recent price, $27). It gives you a stake in futures of crude oil, heating oil, gold, aluminum, wheat and corn.

Cash in on currencies
At FXSol.com, you can use a $10,000 practice account to learn the basics of trading currencies. When you feel you're ready to run with the big dogs, you can open a real account with as little as $250. It's risky business, though. You might be better off trying another site: www.partypoker.com.

Short-term planning
It's been a long time coming, but you can once again get a short-term CD with a rate that tops 5%. Ascensia Bank (877-369-2265; www.ascensiabank.com) was recently offering a one-year CD, with a $500 minimum, yielding 5.35%.

Better safe than sorry
Buy a fire-resistant safe to keep your valuables -- including important documents such as wills and passports -- from being stolen or going up in smoke. A safe with a capacity of about 3 cubic feet from Brinks or Sentry Group runs $700 to $800.

Start a movement
At Pledgebank.com, leverage your charitable donation by enlisting others to sign up, too. Create a pledge, such as "I will [fill in the blank] if [this many other people] will, too." The site's creators say that three-fourths of those who make a pledge pay up.

Never too early
As soon as your child earns money, whether from babysitting for cash or flipping burgers for a paycheck, open a Roth IRA in his or her name. Kick in $1,000 a year between the ages of 15 and 20 and your $5,000 investment, assuming it earns 7% interest, will grow to more than $105,000 by the