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This article is by staff writer Jacqueline Leppla.

It’s bad enough when some scammer gets your credit card, but what happens when they steal your access to health care? Even worse, what if that person is a member of your family or a member of the health care field we are supposed to trust?

It’s not an isolated concern. Medical identity theft represented 42.5 percent of the breaches identified in 2014 according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. And the crime appears to be growing – another consumer advocacy group, the Ponemon Institute, said medical identity theft incidents increased 21.7 percent, costing victims more than $13,500 to resolve.

This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.

I have always been a big reader. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m introverted — so introverted, in fact, that I almost lost my fourth grade reading challenge.

• First, you had to go up to the teacher and tell her that you’d read something.

• Second, after you told her, she gave you a big sticker and you had to go up to your name on the wall in the cafeteria — in front of everyone! — and put the sticker by your name. No way, Jose!

When my teacher contacted my mom and said that she was worried I wasn’t reading enough, my mom burst out laughing.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

Have you ever lost a close friend because your financial situations were too different? Maybe your friendship started when you were on similar financial ground, bonding over bowls of ramen noodles, for instance. But once out of college, your first job paid a lot more than theirs did; or perhaps, the shoe was on the other foot — you’re still flipping burgers and your friend is working in the corporate world with a bigger paycheck.

Benjamin Franklin once cautioned:

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”

But that’s not the only ‘ship’ finances can affect. As you improve your financial situation, you may find that your friendships change too.

While not every relationship (oops, I did it again!) can be saved, you can patch most holes in your friendships by being aware of common problems.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

It sounds good, doesn’t it? For one day per year, skip paying sales tax on — depending on the state — school supplies, clothing, computers, hurricane supplies, and other essential items.

After all, depending on your state’s tax rate, you could save up to 7 percent off your purchases.

The brief history of sales tax holidays

Although the first sales tax holidays — no sales tax on automobiles! — were offered by Ohio and Michigan in 1980, New York gave birth to the modern sales tax holiday in 1997, this time for clothing. New York’s goal was to keep residents from shopping in nearby states which had lower sales tax rates.