I'm thinking of stashing cash for emergencies into a Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) mutual fund rather than CDs or a money-market account. The return is better and the risk doesn't seem to be much higher. What do you think of this plan? -- Ronnie Colvin, Madison, Alabama
In an effort to cut their losses, banks are paying some struggling homeowners as much as $35,000 to sell their homes before they end up in foreclosure.