Alpacas: Cuter Than Snuggles

Who wouldn't want an alpaca? Who wouldn't want several alpacas?

Don't stash your money under the mattress, where its value will erode just as sure as your bedsprings will rust. Join the folks looking for alternative places to put their money. They are investing in hard assets like gold and . . . alpacas.

"Two decades after arriving from South America, alpacas have suddenly become the investment animal of choice by a subculture of doctors, lawyers and other unlikely farmers lured in large part by new tax breaks," according to a Marketwatch article from last year.

Besides being so darn cute, the great thing about raising alpacas is that Americans don't eat them.