Segments From This Episode

• Day in the Work Life: Bail bondsman

  by Marketplace Staff

  If you like financial risk and don't mind working with alleged thieves, swindlers and otherwise unsavory characters, you might make a good bail bondsmen. Make sure to lock up the safe . . .

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• Marketplace Money Mailbag

  by Chris Farrell and Tess Vigeland

  

  Economics editor Chris Farrell addresses listeners' questions about getting early retirement payments, separating tax payments from what a spouse owes, and staying with a fee-based financial planner.

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• Straight Story: That subprime issue

  by Chris Farrell and Tess Vigeland

  

  The subprime crisis is having an adverse effect on a plethora of different markets in the U.S. and beyond. But Chris Farrell says the subprime mess isn't as bad as people think.

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• Debt consolidators to watch out for

  by Ashley Milne-Tyte

  It's easy to type "debt consolidation" into a search engine and get help from any of the firms listed. But some credit solutions companies might just create more problems. Ashley Milne-Tyte gives us some red flags.

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• Buzzword: Commercial paper

  by Marketplace Staff

  Corporate America often relies on commercial paper to keep it going. But many issuers stopped producing these short-term loans when the subprime debaucle settled in.

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• When’s best time to stop the daily grind?

  by John Dimsdale

  The Census Bureau reported this week that more Americans over the age of 65 are putting off retirement. But some choose to take their Social Security benefits early. John Dimsdale explores what might be the better option.

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• Tess Vigeland’s trash challenge

  by Tess Vigeland

  

  Tess Vigeland takes a measure of how much garbage she sends to the landfill. Can she reduce her trash to zero after two weeks? And what about you? Are you up to the challenge?

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• How to become an ‘accidental landlord’

  by Tess Vigeland

  

  The subprime mortgage mess has made it harder to buy and sell a home. But if you're already a homeowner, here's another option: Become what Kate Ashford of Money magazine calls an accidental landlord. She talks with Tess Vigeland.

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• Retirees, watch out for the ‘free lunch’

  by Tess Vigeland

  

  If there's one thing retirees can count on these days, it's offers of a free lunch — and seniors are falling victim to the scam. To find out more about these free-lunch seminars, Tess talked with Patricia Struck, a securities regulator for the state of Wisconsin.

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