New Heartland consumers, the people living in the Midwest, parts of the Southwest and Southeast, are the ones watching, voting, attending the tour dates and buying the music and merchandise.

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One approach to protecting yourself is "laddering, " or buying individual bonds with staggered maturity dates so funds can be reinvested at higher yields as rates go up.

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With cars, for example, the old ideal of buying a ride after high school to squire friends and dates is eroding.

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For example, a company called American Grocers was buying expired (and, therefore, deeply discounted) food, altering the dates on the food, and selling the food at a steep markup to the government to serve to American troops serving in Iraq.

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