Federal Housing Administration home loans used to be just a sliver of the nation's housing market, but now it's one-third. The FHA loans may have helped what would've been an even more stagnant housing market, but federal mortgages may not be sustainable.
Tess Vigeland talks to Marketplace's web producer Dalasie Michaelis on why he spends so much on shampoo and also to marketing Professor Erica Okada about her theory on why Dalasie and other consumers decide to opt for an expensive bottle versus a cheaper one.
Tess Vigeland speaks to economist Dean Baker and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros about government subsidies for homeownership.
Tess Vigeland and Marketplace's economics editor Chris Farrell talk to callers who are deciding where to place their extra money -- savings, debt or a mortgage payment?
Tess Vigeland talks to Beverly Davis of Cornbread Millionaire about Davis trying to save her foreclosed home by selling cornbread mix, bumper stickers and a cookbook.
In the first of our series, Money Changes Everything, reporter Sean Cole follows the story of four recession-struck friends who embark on a mission to build "Fort Awesome" and live off the land on a $550 parcel in the Texas desert purchased on eBay
