Percentage of Americans who believe it is important to have financial conversations before saying "I do," according to a SunTrust survey: 88
Percentage who actually discussed how they would handle finances before getting married: 51
Percentage of married couples who disclosed their annual salaries before walking down the aisle: 41
Percentage who disclosed their debt: 36
Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.
Percentage of Americans (93 million) who say they overspent this past holiday season, according to a WalletHub survey: 37
Percentage (46 million) who regret at least one of their 2018 holiday purchases: 18
Percentage of people who plan to return a present they received this past holiday season: 34
Source: WalletHub.
Age at which kids ages 4 to 14 are the most entrepreneurial, that is, the most likely to boost their income by selling old toys and clothes -- averaging $28 per sale, according to a report by Rooster Money: 11 years
Source: RoosterMoney.
Number of farms that dot America's rural landscape, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation: 2.1 million
Percentage that are operated by families -- individuals, family partnerships or family corporations: 99
Percentage of all farmers who are beginning farmers (in business less than 10 years): 20
Percentage of the total number of U.S. farm operators who are women: 30 (969,672)
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation.
Percentage of Americans who say their skin feels different in winter than it does during the rest of the year, with six in 10 going as far as calling it "unhealthy," according to a survey conducted for CeraVe: 83
Ranks of dryness (69 percent), itchiness (51 percent) and redness (24 percent) on the list of the most bothersome skin discomforts during the colder months: 1, 2, 3
Source: CeraVe.
Percentage of American adults with debt who don't know when they'll ever be debt-free, according to a study from CreditCards.com: 65
Percentage who expect to die in debt, down from 30 percent last year: 25
Percentage of Americans with debt who believe they'll conquer it at some point: 35
Average projected age to be debt-free: 53
Source: Bankrate Inc.
Percentage of Americans who say cities should provide more environmentally friendly alternatives to driving, according to a survey conducted for Bird by Global Strategy Group: 84
Percentage who said they want more options specifically for trips that are shorter than 2 miles: 76
Percentage who support increasing the number of bike and scooter lanes in their city: 80
Source: Bird.
Odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose, according to the National Safety Council: 1 in 96
Odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash: 1 in 103
Lifetime odds of dying from any preventable, accidental cause (a change from one in 30 in 2004): 1 in 25
Source: National Safety Council.
Percentage of parents who are likely to reward good behavior with video game playing time, according to YouGov Omnibus research: 60
Percentage who say video games can help kids build teamwork skills: 48
Percentage who say video games allow parents/kids to stay in touch with one another: 44
Percentage who believe that playing games with their kids helps strengthen their relationship: 54
Source: YouGov.
Idle Thought
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare." -- Mark Twain
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)