Average amount that Americans in the country's 22 largest metropolitan areas spend annually on food at home, according to a CreditCards.com analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data: $4,464
Amount spent by Seattle residents to top the list: $6,195
Average amount spent on food away from home: $3,459
Amount spent in Washington, D.C.: $5,629
Average amount spent on gas: $2,109
Amount spent in Los Angeles at No. 1: $2,706
Average amount spent on public/other transportation: $818
Amount spent in Washington, D.C.: $2,099
Source: CreditCards.com.
Percentage of Super Bowl tickets that go to the AFC champion, according to Tickpick: 17.5
Percentage that go to the NFC champion: 17.5
Percentage that go to the host team: 5
Percentage that is distributed among the remaining 29 teams (1.2% per team): 34.8
Percentage of remaining Super Bowl tickets controlled by the NFL and sold to various partners, sponsors, media and networks: 25.2
Source: Tickpick.
Percentage of companies in the U.S. that offer any child-care benefits, according to a survey by Clutch: 6
Average annual cost of daycare for one infant or toddler (a cost that varies widely based on a family's location): $11,666
Source: Clutch.
Percentage of technology leaders who said their company offers IT staff more than the norm when it comes to things like remote work opportunities and sign-on bonuses, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 75
Ranks of Miami, Seattle and Raleigh, North Carolina, on the list of the 28 U.S. cities in the survey that have the most organizations that are sweetening the pot for hard-to-find IT talent: 1, 2, 3
Percentage of IT managers who said the main reason for the extras is to gain a recruiting edge over competitors: 60
Source: Robert Half Technology.
Percentage of parents in the U.S. who gave their children a regular allowance last year, according to a study by RoosterMoney: 69
Average weekly allowance (nearly $499 a year, up 6% from 2018): $9.59
Average percentage of their money that kids saved: 42
Average amount of their income that adults saved, according to the latest statistics: 7.8
Ranks of Legos, cellphones and Nintendo Switch on the list of the top items kids save for: 1, 2, 3
Source: RoosterMoney.
Percentage of Americans who say they feel in control over their current financial situation, according to a financial services firm Edward Jones survey: 81
Percentage of respondents who reported that they feel happy when thinking about saving money: 21
If given $1,000, percentage of respondents who said they would allocate it to short-term goals (those that can be accomplished in less than five years): 72
Percentage who also reported that retirement was a top savings priority: 26
Source: Edward Jones.
Percentage of all nonretired adults who have no retirement savings or pension, according to a report from WalletHub: 26
Ranks of Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming on the list of the best states in which to retire -- established by data ranging from adjusted cost of living to weather to quality of public hospitals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ranks of Kentucky, New Mexico, Rhode Island, New Jersey and West Virginia on the list of the worst states in which to retire: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Source: WalletHub.
Across a range of categories -- from economic influence and military might to education and quality of life -- ranks of Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. on the list of the best countries, according to an analysis project by U.S. News and World Report, BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Ranks of United States, Russia and China on the list of the most powerful countries: 1, 2, 3
Ranks of Canada, Denmark and Sweden on the list of the best countries for quality of life: 1, 2, 3
Source: U.S. News and World Report.
Projected worldwide value of pirate video services accessed by pay-TV and nonpay-TV consumers by 2023, according to a Parks Associates report: $67 billion plus
If just 10% of pay-TV subscribers discontinued pay-TV services in favor of video delivered by pirates, probable loss to those operators by 2023: $6 billion
Source: Parks Associates.
Percentage of Americans who reported feeling guilty about wasting energy in their homes, according to a Vivint Solar Report: 70
Percentage in the oldest group of people (55 and older) who felt guilty about wasting energy, compared to 77% of respondents in the youngest group (ages 18 to 24): 55
Percentage who said that they changed their habits to be more "green" when others were around: 49
Source: Vivint Solar.
Idle Thought
"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." -- Socrates
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)