Tess Vigeland

Former Host, Marketplace Money

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Tess Vigeland was the host of Marketplace Money, a weekly personal finance program that looks at why we do what we do with our money: your life, with dollar signs. Vigeland and her guests took calls from listeners to answer their most vexing money management questions, and the program helped explain what the latest business and financial news means to our wallets and bank accounts.

Vigeland joined Marketplace in September 2001, as a host of Marketplace Morning Report. She rose at o-dark-thirty to deliver the latest in business and economic news for nearly four years before returning briefly to reporting and producing. She began hosting Marketplace Money in 2006 and ended her run as host in November of 2012. . Vigeland was also a back-up host for Marketplace.

Prior to joining the team at Marketplace, Vigeland reported and anchored for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, where she received a Corporation for Public Broadcasting Silver Award for her coverage of the political scandal involving Senator Bob Packwood (R-Ore.). She co-hosted the weekly public affairs program Seven Days on OPB television, and also produced an hour-long radio documentary about safety issues at the U.S. Army chemical weapons depot in Eastern Oregon. Vigeland next served as a reporter and backup anchor at WBUR radio in Boston. She also spent two years as a sports reporter for NPR’s Only a Game.

For her outstanding achievements in journalism, Vigeland has earned numerous awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists. Vigeland has a bachelor's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is a contributor to The New York Times and is a volunteer fundraiser for the Pasadena Animal League and Pasadena Humane Society. In her free time, Vigeland studies at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, continuing 20-plus years of training as a classical pianist.

Latest Stories (863)

How much should I spend? Well, show me a number first.

Jan 16, 2012
Behavioral economist Nick Epley at the University of Chicago tells us what "price anchoring" is -- and how numbers influence our judgment.
Number cues dictate how you buy.
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Zappos hacked

Jan 16, 2012
The online shoe giant has notified some of its 24 million customers that its site has been hacked.

JPMorgan Chase slows debt collection

Jan 13, 2012
The American Banker says that JPMorgan Chase appears to be backing off efforts to collect unpaid credit card debt from its customers. They're not forgiving the debt, but they've quietly stopped going after it.
The JPMorgan Chase building in New York City.
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Letters: Saving as much as you can

Jan 13, 2012
Tess Vigeland and senior producer Paddy Hirsch go through the Marketplace Money mailbag.
Let us know what you think about the show. Contact us!
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Cordray's plans for the CFPB

Jan 13, 2012
Richard Cordray, chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, discusses what powers he'll have and how he plans to use them.
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End of a long, dry spell

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This week's Marketplace Piggy is headed to Livingston, Mont., where James Willish, 35, is working again after 44 months of unemployment.

Getting Personal: Underwater - should you swim away?

Jan 13, 2012
L.A. Times consumer columnist David Lazarus joins Tess to answer questions about debt mediation services and how to cope with the bank when your home is underwater.
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Suze debuts new show, new card

Jan 13, 2012
Financial adviser Suze Orman rolled out a new TV show and debit card this week. She discusses the controversial new card and why it could be her swan song.
Suze Orman speaking at the National Press Club.
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Start a 'Forget You Fund'

Jan 6, 2012
Who wants a boring emergency fund when you can have an exciting "Forget You Fund?" OK, they're the same thing, but we learn how changing your mindset may actually help you save for emergencies.
There's even a catchy tune to remind you to put money in your "Forget You Fund"!
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'Riskalyze' before you invest

Jan 6, 2012
Before you start to invest, we at Marketplace Money always tell you to assess your "risk tolerance." Now there's an algorithm that can help you quantify how much risk you are willing to take on.
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