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Tess Vigeland

Former Host, Marketplace Money

SHORT BIO

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)

Tell your credit report to chill

Oct 5, 2007
Major credit agency Trans Union announced recently that it would allow consumers to freeze their credit report. Is that cool? Tess Vigeland asks personal finance expert Liz Pulliam Weston.
Hundred dollar bills chilling in snow
iStockPhoto.com

Good news for home buyers

Oct 5, 2007
National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 6.5 percent from July to August. That may be good news if you're looking to buy a home. Tess Vigeland talks to Elizabeth Razzi, author of "The Fearless Home Buyer."
House made of $50 bills.
iStockPhoto

Finding the 'missing class'

Oct 5, 2007
General Motors employees are voting on a deal that got them back to work after a two-day strike, part of which involves big pay and benefit cuts. Tess talks about it with Katherine Newman, co-author of "The Missing Class."
Cover symbol from book "The Missing Piece"
Beacon Press

Marketplace Money Mailbag

Oct 5, 2007
How fast can economics editor Chris Farrell go? Find out in this third installment of the Mailbag speed round. Chris also covers advising college freshmen on personal finance and dealing with Roth IRA income limits.
Mailbox
istockphoto

Straight Story: Moral investing

Oct 5, 2007
Socially responsible investing is hot, hot, hot. And Chris Farrell says one of the best ways to invest responsibly is by putting your money into frontier markets.
Economics editor Chris Farrell
American Public Media

Lessons from the trash challenge

Sep 29, 2007
In the coming weeks, Marketplace will air a series of reports on our consumer culture -- why we keep buying as much stuff as we do, and whether or not it's sustainable. Tess Vigeland hauled around her own trash for two weeks for an education on waste.
An Apple Jacks box is among several items at Los Angeles County's Bradley Landfill that could have been recycled by the consumer who threw them in the trash.
Tess Vigeland

Something else to dislike about September

Sep 29, 2007
According to Wall Street lore and superstitious brokers, September is the worst month for investors. Tess talks about the legend with David Wyss, chief economist for Standard and Poor's.
Wall Street sign
iStockPhoto

Bringing health care home

Sep 29, 2007
Many older Americans are choosing not to seek medical care in nursing homes or other facilities, but have someone assist them in their home. Tess Vigeland talks about the trend with Elinor Ginzler of the AARP.
Elderly woman with walker
iStockPhoto

Can a bank cry all the way to itself?

Sep 29, 2007
Last year, banks made a fortune through fees from customers' overdraft charges. Exactly how much? Tess Vigeland talks with Leslie Parrish of the Center for Responsible Lending, who co-authored a study that puts the figure in the billions.
Money is puzzling
istockphoto.com

Straight Story: Emotional investing

Sep 28, 2007
Economics editor Chris Farrell wants to talk about passion. No no, hear him out -- he says that emotions aren't the enemy of reason when it comes to investing.
Economics editor Chris Farrell
American Public Media